Wonderland's Curse
by Fireball Massacre
Summary: Madness,curse,wonderland. What more, oh yeah, throw in "insane" people,like so called Naruto, and a new kid, Sasuke. The curse broke the barrier of the material world and "immaterial" world(whatever it is) and forced some people into Wonderland. What the heck is happening Who will be caught within the strange world of Wonderland? Who is the true enemy? Who is on your side?
1. The Not-So-Great Introduction

**(I do not own** **anything, but the plot.)**

_/.../_ = section of the curse

**Chapter 1: The Not-so-Great Introduction**

**. . . .**

Bright sunlight donned atop of his blond head as his black boots with bright orange laces hit the ground in a rhythm. He peered up at the "Prison" he had to attend. For five days every week, he came, and it seemed he was already back, (technically two days passed in between but it goes by so fast). The only positive side that he could see was that he only had a few agonizing years left to go through.

Shoving his hands in his pants' pockets, he gazed around the yard around the entrance of the school, which contained short green grass and a lot of fidgeting bodies. Many he remembered seeing before, but he focused on a totally unfamiliar being. He noticed, at first, the stranger's most striking characteristic: his_ eyes_.

The stranger had eyes unlike anyone he had seen. The stranger's eyes were black- literally- and even his hair didn't match their darkness. He noticed the stranger wore a v-neck long sleeved shirt with a white-gray color to it (more toward the gray side), a black shirt lay underneath the v-neck, semi-baggy dark blue nearly black pants that reached the stranger's black sandals and light gray socks, and he also had two finger less gloves, which were an indigo color.

Then, right before he looked away from the stranger, the black eyes stared at him. Quickly, he turned away from those eyes, and he met green and angry eyes. He jumped and fell to his back. He laughed, slightly nervously. "Hey Sakura." He rubbed the back of his head, sitting up and smiling.

Sakura stuck out her hand. "Give it, Naruto."

He looked as innocent as possible. "What do you mean?"

Sakura said, just as he cracked a grin. "The homework you took from me yesterday. I want it back." He took out a piece of paper, and she yanked it out of his reach. When Sakura left and he stood up, a bell rang from the building. He let out a sigh. "Great, the torture continues," he grumbled slightly to himself. He didn't always hate school, but that feeling changed on his first day of second grade.

Everyone started to rush into the school. Like usual, people tried to push and shove you out of the way if you weren't going at _their_ designated pace. He felt someone bump into his shoulder. Next came a connection of probably someone's hip with his hip. Suddenly, an unpleasant sharp pain erupted from the middle of his back, sending him to his face, and a heavy object smashed down on top of his back.

. . . .

He walked into surreal place. What strange place it was. Since so many bodies occupied the minuscule schoolyard, the walk to the entrance seemed awkward. People were everywhere, busying themselves before the day started. Some where talking with others, some sitting by themselves (or with an animal), and some were already heading inside. The school building wasn't that spectacular, but it was indeed new, as was him.

No doubt anyone would be able to pick him out. His eyes traveled across the yard, past a few quarreling girls in his view, and he directed himself toward the front door, but stopped. Something gold caught his eye. When he turned to the gold color, he saw a kid. He noticed the kid wore black boots under his extremely baggy black pants that had a faint discoloration on where the kid's knees would have been, a bright orange t-shirt over a black tight long sleeve shirt, and on his right wrist he had a matching orange watch.

Looking to what had caught his eyes in the first place, he looked over the kid's unnatural blond hair color. The color was literally yellow! Blue eyes rose up to meet his, and briskly turned away to that of a girl with pink hair. The girl had on a qipao dress that was a mix of dark pink and a deep red which went down to the middle of her thigh, maroon colored shorts that stopped at her knees, maroon boots that started at the top of her ankles with pink laces matching the shade of her hair, and a deep red headband.

He saw the two people start to talk, obviously the blond didn't really want to be in the conversation, since he did look rather uneasy. A bell rang, just as he turned away from the two. Everybody shoved and pushed now. He stumbled a bit, and somehow, he tripped and fell onto something. He looked to see not a something, but a someone. He rose to his feet, watching the kid he knocked over sit up.

The kid shook himself off, and the blue eyes rose to meet his again. He felt his brow arch up at the kid; it was the blonde he had noticed earlier. The blond flashed him a glare. "What was that for?" He stood, and after no response, he stuck a finger at the other's chest. "I don't know who you are, nor do I really care, around here people normally say sorry when they push people to their faces."

The last of the children were just now going inside. He just stared at the blond.

The blond's eye twitched at the other's stoic expression. "Watch your step, kid."

"I have a name." The other stated. " It's Sasuke."

The blond glared a bit more. "Dumb ass kid." He grumbled and went to leave. He felt a hand grasp his arm. "Going to say sorry to me?"

Sasuke flipped the blond to his back. "You should stay out of my way, and you wouldn't have tripped."

The blond stood up. "I fell because you're such a clumsy oaf, and you can't seem to walk straight." He grabbed a fist full of Sasuke's shirt. "Don't mess with me. I could demolish you with one hand behind my back."

"Unlikely," the other commented lowly, while his hand held the blond's shirt. A smirk eased itself onto his face, as he watched the blond "steam."

The blond's hand whipped out to hit Sasuke. However, Sasuke hit him. Reeling a bit, the blond held his head.

. . . .

Naruto opened his eyes, laying on the cold hard ground. He sat up, grumbling. "Where am I?" When his eyes focused, he blinked. This place is different. The forest was different and strange. So many weird things. He stood up, noticing how his clothing felt weighted slightly. As he glanced down, he noticed his clothing was also different. He had changed clothing!

He now wore a black vest cloak article of clothing that came down to the bottom of his knees with an orange symbol that swirled and a raised collar, underneath that he had on a white long sleeve with yellow tips that flared at the ends, black baggy pants, and black boots. Also, his normally shaggy hair seemed to mysteriously be pulled back from his face like he had a headband on, which he knew he didn't have one. He stared around the forest with its over-sized mushrooms and slightly gloomy atmosphere. _Why am I even here?_ He thought slowly.

Something rose up from the ground. He braced himself, but became less tense. It was only a rabbit. No, not just a rabbit, but The Rabbit. He started to recognize this place. He didn't know what was going on, but he needed to find Alice. The rabbit suddenly twitched and blood rolled out of its mouth and eyes. "What a wonder-wonder-wonder-" The rabbit twitched more.

Naruto's eyes were wide. Then, he heard something, and when he turned to it, something knocked him over. It went at him. The thing was black and oily with what seemed to contain doll parts within it. He blinked his eyes closed and opened them to not that black hideous creature, but to see one with only black eyes.

. . . .

The one with black eyes watched the other fall. Right before the blond hit the ground, however, he grabbed the front of his shirt. He drew him close by his shirt and glared when the blue eyes reopened. The blue eyes blinked, seemingly to be confused at first. Then, he got all his understanding back, since he grabbed Sasuke's shirt in return and glared.

Suddenly, the bell rang from within the school.

All anger evaporated from the blond as soon as he heard the bell. "Crap!" He tugged away the other's grip and ran inside.

. . . .

Naruto reached homeroom, hoping the teacher would be late, like normal. However, just his luck, the teacher was there and waiting for him. "Uzumaki Naruto, why are you late," his masked teacher asked. His uncovered eye glanced over at him.

Naruto smiled. "I lost track of time, Kakashi. Sorry about that." Kakashi did not like to be called Hatake for some reason, so everyone called him Kakashi. Naruto came to the conclusion that being referred to Mr. Hatake was like being called _old_ to Kakashi; he didn't want to face that fact. Naruto hoped Kakashi would say something more, but he didn't so Naruto slid into his seat and traced the etched words on the desk.

"You must be the Uchiha transfer," Kakashi's voice started. "Take the open seat." Naruto faintly heard the rustling on fabric as someone passed him and sat behind him. He knew it couldn't be the kid from outside. His luck wasn't that bad. He sighed once as he waited for the bell to ring. Once it rang, no one moved, except Kakashi, who strolled out of the room, reading a book. They all had a class in this room, and their teacher came in.

This time the teacher was female. She had black shoulder length hair, a red unique color for her eyes, and everyone called her Kurenai. One child grinned to her. "Good morning, Kurenai Sensei." He had wild brown hair, sharp eyes, pronounced canine teeth, and red markings under his eyes. "Horrible weather today, perhaps Akamaru could come in?"

Kurenai gave him a light smile. "Sorry Kiba, but there are no dogs allowed in school."

"Dog," the child, or Kiba, gasped. "Akamaru is not just a dog! He is my partner, and a very loyal and obedient-"

Kurenai let out a small sigh. "Fine, you may bring Akamaru in." Kiba brightened. "On one condition, everyone can not be allergic to him. Is anyone here allergic to dogs?" Kiba beamed as pretty much everyone shook their heads, other than Naruto, who was trying to not fall sleep. "Okay," she started.

Naruto heard a rustle behind him, thinking it was someone raising their hand. The kid's voice came from behind him. "I'm allergic." It was familiar, but Naruto couldn't place it. Not yet, at least.

"Kurenai-Sensei, he's just saying that!" The dog-boy (Kiba) exclaimed. He was silenced by her with a look and a small smile.

"I can not permit it." Kurenai said, looking obviously sad about the situation. "I'm sorry, Kiba." Kiba glared at the kid behind Naruto, arms crossed, and body tense. Kurenai frowned. "I suppose now is the time to introduce our newest classmate. Please come up front." Naruto heard the person behind him stand up and walk by him. Busying himself with the words that occupied the top of the desk, Naruto didn't even look at the guy. "This is Uchiha Sasuke," Kurenai said with a smile apparent on her face.

Naruto blinked, eyes snapping up to meet the black eyes of Sasuke. "What?" His stomach flopped. _Great just fantastic, he had to deal with the stupid kid for every freaking class! _Quickly, he turned away from Sasuke, and he thought he saw a smirk. Out of anger, he stabbed down a pencil. _I have terrible luck! And of course he has everyone's attention_, (especially all the girls - not Naruto's thought, but an author note).

Eventually, the introduction was finished, and he heard Sasuke sit down behind him. Naruto glared slightly, scratching at the words he could no longer read. His right hand was clenched tightly. He heard a buzzing noise, and he heard it getting louder. When he realized it was voices, he heard the annoying voice behind him. "Ms. Kurenai, the blond's bleeding."

Naruto listened to Kurenai's frightened voice, well slightly frightened voice. "Naruto, your hand. You must go to the nurse and have that checked out."

"It's not that bad," Naruto smiled at her without looking at his hand. Kurenai looked paler than usual. She went for his hand, but Naruto took it away. Naruto smiled a big grin. "I'll go if you really want, but it really is no big deal. I've had worse than this."

Kurenai frowned at the last sentence, but smiled thinly. "Just stay at the nurse for the rest of the period, or as long as you need." Naruto stood up and left. There was only two or so minutes left of the period. Maybe, he could reach his class on time if he went now. He sighed. He should at least clean it up. He stared at the blood in his hand, rolling off and onto the hard tiles below his feet.

. . . .

Sasuke walked up to the front after Kurenai told him to do so. His name was heard around the room, and he glanced at the blond from earlier, the one he found out to be Naruto Uzumaki by the strange homeroom teacher. He wanted to see his reaction. His blue eyes connected with his for a split second, unbelieving. Sasuke couldn't help but smirk at the stunned expression and the other's mumble.

The kid looked away, scowled, and stabbed a pencil down. Sasuke thought he saw the pencil connect with the kid's palm. He decided it was just his eyes tricking him, since the blond didn't even notice it. As he walked past the kid, Sasuke saw him scratch at the desk and clench his fist. Peering over the seemingly younger kid's shoulder, he watched red slide its way through his fingers.

Sasuke stated. "Ms. Kurenai, the blond's bleeding." He wasn't sure what to call the teacher, so he played it safe. He didn't really pay any attention to her, as the blond said that it's not bad. _That's bull shit_, he found himself glaring at Naruto's right hand. Naruto said something else and moved his hand away from the terribly caring teacher. What made him blink was that the kid said he had experienced worse than the pain in his hand.

Naruto stood up, unconsciously gave Kurenai a nod, and strolled out. He seemed unfazed by his hand, which left a trail out blood (if you looked pretty close to the ground, or had extremely amazing eyesight like Sasuke). Soon the bell rang, everyone piled out of the classroom, and Kurenai all bade them farewell. Sasuke reached the hallway, seeing the bright blond hair coming from the bathroom.

As Naruto left the bathroom, Sasuke ventured in. He felt his jaw drop. "What the heck...?" All around him was red. Blood everywhere! Blood on the stall doors, walls, mirrors, and surprisingly, on the ceiling a bit. The worst thing was the bloody writing. He read it:

_/With one yellow eye and one red eye, the curse shall rise. Like demons in the Sky. They will Devour and Destroy. Then, eventually you will become a toy. Lay to waste. How does it taste? Now the world is anything but dry. Everyone at the end will die./_

Something was under that. As Sasuke read it, he raised a brow. The writing showed: "Beware the Curse." _What curse?_ Sasuke thought. Suddenly, he doubled over in pain. Rolling up his sleeves, he noticed marks on his arms. The marks oozed blood. He gritted his teeth as there was more pain, and the blood rolled off the side of his arms. "What the... hell... is this damn... pain..?" He bit his lip, shuddering.

"You don't want to be caught cutting yourself on the first day," a familiar voice came from behind Sasuke.

"I don't do that." His black eyes went to the exposed mirror to see the blond leaning against the wall next to the door.

Naruto shrugged at the one with black eyes. "Some do it." He walked over to look at the bleeding. "It just seems peculiar to just end up bleeding in the bathroom and ranting about a curse."

Sasuke flashed him an angry glare. "You're the one that did that, not me."

Naruto raised a brow. "I don't recall that." He watched the other shudder from another rush of pain. He grabbed a cloth to clean the blood away and jumped back slightly. He gripped Sasuke's wrist. "Do you know what these mean?" He practically hissed. Sasuke gave a look that told him he didn't. The blond mumbled something. "Well, these too are unimportant, but there's the omega symbol, which means end, and this weird symbol that I think means curse... or death. Either way, that's not good." Even though Naruto said that, he grinned.

"Why are you grinning, dobe." Sasuke watched Naruto take out a roll of wrap, and Naruto handed it over with a wrapped up right hand. He must have done that after his "destruction of school property." Sasuke eyed it, but took it anyways. As he wrapped up his arms, a crushing pain seared through his back. He felt pressure on the top of his back, and he threw Naruto to the ground, well tried.

Instead, Naruto dodged the other's hand and grinned. "Sloppy, very sloppy." He decided to leave and did so.

NEXT DAY

* * *

Sasuke walked up to the school for the second day in a row. The last part of his first day was quite uneventful, (so I didn't write on it), and he and the blond ignored each other for the time being. He, in fact, saw the one known as Naruto all day that day, but he didn't fully acknowledge Naruto. In the present, Sasuke directed himself inside, found his desk, and sat down.

He was early. He knew that, and he liked to be early. It was quieter inside without anyone else. He sat back until finally the bell rang and people came in. Naruto came in, looking more sullen and upset than the day before. Sasuke noticed a really dark blue and purple bruise on the other's cheek that ran down to the edge of his jaw. Blue eyes glanced over at him, but for once they didn't narrow.

Naruto sighed and slipped into his seat, actually basically collapsing into the seat. He sighed, fingers drawing something across the desk. He had noticed the teme's stare, and he couldn't even bring himself to glare. It hurt too much. All he could do was barely make it into his seat without slamming against the floor. The bell rang again. After a few more minutes, (ten to be exact), the teacher arrived.

"Hello, sorry I'm late," Kakashi's eye seemed to smile. He sat down and opened his book. He began to read, after he said. "Talk among yourself, Kurenai will be coming in later." His eyes were glued to the words in the book. People got up, moved to sit with their more respected friends, and talked/ laughed. Sasuke didn't move; Naruto just groaned and laid down his head.

Sasuke felt himself open his mouth. "Who the hell did you piss off now?" For a few moments he thought the blond was asleep, until Naruto's muffled voice spoke up.

"Thanks to you, my parents got ticked," Sasuke thought he heard the blond mutter.

Sasuke sighed. "It was your own fault for picking the fight in the first place." He watched Naruto tense a bit. Any second now he could make Naruto flip. "You fell and blamed it on me. And you didn't think I wouldn't be annoyed?"

Naruto swirled on him. "You have no idea what you did. You stupid ass!" He swung his head back around, shaking from anger.

Sasuke stated, calmly. "What exactly did I do?"

Naruto turned in his seat to glower at the other. "You got me bea-" Naruto stopped and changed his approached, since everyone was staring over at them. "My parents do not like tardiness or violence, so they grounded me." He murmured, lamely, turning back to face the front. The bell rang again, and Kakashi stayed until Kurenai came into the classroom. Sasuke stared at Naruto's back, who seemed to be in a constant slouch that day.

Naruto clenched his pencil, but couldn't focus on his work. Sasuke had got him all worked up, and Naruto thought he had the control he needed. Guess not. The class slugged along. Just as the next bell rang, Naruto snapped to his feet and went for the door. However, something grabbed the back of his shirt. Everyone walked out, not noticing Naruto stuck in the classroom and being pulled backwards, even Kurenai rushed off before him.

The hand dragged him into his seat. He peered up at the black eyes, which glared at him. "Don't blame me for your stupid crap." Sasuke told him, and Naruto watched him go. Naruto stood up again, hearing a pop in his knee. All he had to do was make it through to lunch. He was starving. Weird time to think about food, but whatever, the body wants what it wants.

Naruto arrived in class only seconds before the bell rang. He slid into his seat in the back row and grinned falsely since he caught the girl that was wearing purple, that had cool white colored eyes, and dark blue locks for hair, looking at him with a worried expression. The girl looked down shyly. "Y-you know lunch is-is only a few periods away, r-right N-Naruto?"

Naruto smiled faintly. She could make him smile for some odd reason, even the feeling of pain could not make the smile disappear. He nodded. "You're right, Hinata. That's a plus, only two more periods after this." Lunch was absolutely his favorite class. In Naruto's mind, it was a class. The top class! Naruto loved how the school always had ramen and always allowed him to eat as much as he wanted (because no one else liked the food really). He didn't even have to pay, which saved him in more ways than one.

People thought him just to be able to eat so much, but most of his hunger came from something below that. Typically, he only ate the cafeteria food, and it wasn't just because of the quality either. Naruto smiled more. Now he was all hopped up. He couldn't wait. His happiness dampened when he had a sharp pain in his ribs. He winced slightly. It hurt, a lot, especially with the crazy hard and uncomfortable desks.

Throughout the class, Naruto couldn't pay attention to anything, but to keep his mouth shut and to play it like he didn't feel like he was hit by a truck then a train then kicked in the shin by an angry dwarf. As he scribbled on his paper, he heard the teacher's, also known as Asuma's, voice comment. "Uzumaki Naruto, I may have to start calling you Slacker instead of Shikamaru with your participation today."

Naruto looked up, head suddenly reeling. "I... I just have been thinking it over. In my head, you know, um, mentally..?"

Asuma gave a slight sigh. "I'll let this slide since you are usually more attentive, but try to concentrate on your schoolwork, and not your artistry skills." People around the room snickered. "We do have those clubs after school," He added lastly, and went on teaching after Naruto's slow nod. Naruto grew red at the snickers and glances his way. They were talking about him, he knew, but what irked him was that they probably thought him the one thing he wasn't: _Insane_.

. . . .

Sasuke watched the whole thing with Asuma and Naruto. Naruto was distracted, even the new kid understood that. Sasuke watched as a girl with dark blue hair smiled shyly at Naruto and whispered something. Naruto gave her a smile, noticeably fake to Sasuke, and the girl lit up red, almost as red as a tomato. Sasuke looked around the room. He noticed no one that gave off the essence of lazy, except for a terribly husky kid, but it wasn't just all lazy. Sasuke didn't think the Slacker would be that kid.

The dog-boy, or Kiba, laughed over something, and Asuma didn't yell at him. Asuma didn't even notice the child. Sasuke watched as other kid's talked and jumped seats. The dog-person, close to a girl with blonde hair now, smirked and grabbed the long hair in a fist. The girl glared. "Not the hair, Kiba!" She whacked him off. "Jerk!" Still Asuma did not interfere.

Next to the female blonde sat the husky kid, who laughed slightly. "It's alright, Ino. He's just playing."

"With my hair?! You do not touch and play with something that beautiful." The blonde, Ino, scoffed. Sasuke sighed as Ino glanced over with a smile and waved. He turned away just in time to see pink flash by him and a piece of paper hit his desk. He saw the pink head swoosh as the owner sat down. Picking up the paper, he thought about crushing it and throwing it away, but ended up shoving it into his pocket.

He didn't really want it, but he was curious about what it said. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction over him like that though. The bell rang for dismissal to another class. Standing up, out of his peripheral vision, he watched the unique blond color of hair stand and fall toward the ground. Desks spilled everywhere, and some even fell over. That blond must have fallen because he's such a big _oaf_.

. . .

At last, the bell rang. The children went to their other classes. All that other stuff, and the lunch bell rang. Naruto ran for the line and got his big bowl of ramen. Cheerfully, he got to his usual empty table, sat down, and then, chowed down. Before the end of first grade, Naruto remembered when he had people actually sit at this table with him. He had friends, and he was indeed happy. He didn't have to worry about anything.

Now it was totally different. His friends slowly drifted away, but what surprised him more was that they ignored him completely like he was a disease (at times). Well, it probably has to do with his parents situation. Even though he would be happy to have his friends back, he was always glad for ramen, which he presently finished. Hinata didn't even go to lunch, usually she went home to eat.

His other friends had other things to do, such as detention, extra credit, or would rather be alone. They didn't talk much, even in class, because Naruto couldn't really do anything without his parents finding out, and he knew better to mention friends to them. For their own safety, he decided to talk only when needed. However, it was wicked hard, especially since it was his nature to talk.

Naruto grinned slightly, standing. Maybe today he could go to the gym, real quick. He ran to the gym. Looking around, he went in circles to stare around it. No one was in here, most still in lunch, most likely. He ran at the wall, darted sideways off it, and rolled back to his feet. Then, he climbed the rock wall real fast, did a few back flips to his feet, and a hand came at his face.

He brightened more as he came face to face with five other hims. They rushed at him. Naruto ducked down, slid under one clone who tried to kick him, and brought up a hand to deflect a fist coming at his face. He kneed that one and gave him a good kick. The clone disappeared a little after. Four more to go. Naruto charged at them, and in mid air, he swung around to kick back a clone.

The clone disappeared, while taking another with him. Two left. Naruto's eyes darted around. "Where'd you go..." Then, he jumped back as the two clones erupted over his head. They both turned back with a ball of blue in their close hands (one with the right hand below the ball, while the other's left hand was above the ball). Naruto grinned. He knew it was Rasengan move.

However, Naruto just watched them run at him, yet he didn't move. He was about to move, but he heard the bell. Distracted, he felt the rasengan connect with his chest. He flew backwards, and he groaned. Now he was injuring himself!? How can one simply hurt oneself with a clone that shouldn't be able to surprise him or her. He went to class with a chuckle; he was good. He managed the so-called impossible.

. . . .

Sasuke went to lunch to eat when the lunch bell rang. Second day, so far so good. He supposed that at least. At least he didn't have what happened at one of his first schools. He remembered the kids running as he accidentally set the school on fire. Back then he was just afraid he'd hurt someone or he had disgraced his family. Now he purposely did it just to escape schools that were terrible.

This school he had mixed feelings about. It was just like any other school, except he heard to be partly a ninja school, but he was starting to think that may just be false information. He got his lunch, and he ate it. The lunch was terrible though! It tasted horrible like sewer water and trash, probably worse than that. Sasuke knew what trash tasted like, and he concluded it was way better than that slop on his tray.

After he through out the remainder of his meal, he noticed a group of people, and a female with dark hair grinned at him. "Hey new kid!" She didn't seem like the other girls. She didn't seem crazy about him. Cautiously, he raised a brow at her. "Here's a tip," the female started. "Stay away from that crazy boy." She pointed to a nearly empty table with a boy with blond hair sat.

It was Naruto. Sasuke stated. "What evidence do you have that he's crazy?"

The girl laughed, eyes sparkling slightly. Maybe Sasuke was wrong, maybe she was just like those other girls. Or worse. A boy with dark hair, perhaps brown, and white colored eyes stated. "Enough, Ten Ten. Leave Naruto be. He just had a rough time with his parents." Sasuke actually wanted to hear more.

The girl sighed. "He was fine until his parents died when he was around seven. Killed in a car crash. Then, he goes around swearing they are still alive and attacking him. And there's a curse that will be fulfilled." She shook her head and paused. "Eventually, he seemed to grow out of all his weirdness... That is, until, yesterday..?"

The brown haired boy looked at the raven haired one. "Just like Gaara and Shikamaru."

Sasuke raised a brow._ Curse, huh?_

The girl frowned slightly. "They both talked about curses and madness. I understood Gaara, but Shikamaru? He was one of the smartest people ever, and he was friends with that kid and look where that led him! He got transferred to that-that place..."

"They transferred across the street," a boy with black glasses (and surprisingly a bug on his finger) finally spoke up without looking at Sasuke.

Sasuke left them. They did give him a lot of information, but he wondered if truly the blond, this Gaara, and this Shikamaru/Slacker, were as crazy as the girl predicted. He looked to where the blond had just been and blinked. The kid was gone. He noticed the blond run into the hallway. That kid was in a hurry. Dang! Sasuke followed him to a big open space that he knew could only be the gym.

He watched the blond spin in circles, and many people's worst nightmare came true. There was more than one Naruto! There were six in all. Sasuke watched five Narutos gain up on the sixth one. He watched Naruto jump around, dodge, and attack himself. The kid was faster than what Sasuke initially thought. As he watched the sparring match, he couldn't help but notice the kid's grin.

He looked extremely happy, and Sasuke almost decided to ruin the kid's fun, but the bell did it for him. He saw Naruto look away from the two other Narutos and then got slammed in the crest with something blue. Sasuke smirked. _Only someone _special_ could accomplish that._ He headed for class with the spectacle burned into his brain.

. . .

Naruto arrived in class, feeling cheerful and exhilarated. He was practically humming to himself and bouncing to his seat. When he sat down in his seat for that day (what I mean is that they can choose their seating arrangements for that class), he grinned more. He took out a pencil, tapping it on the table since it was lab, and a table was needed for some portions of that class.

He blinked a bit as he heard someone sit next to him. Many waited until everyone else was taken until they even thought about working with "The Crazy One." Some didn't work with him even when no one else was available. They would rather come during lunch or after school. "People say you're crazy," he heard a voice mumble. "Is that so, dobe?"

Naruto's happiness evaporated. "Shut up... Teme." He glared at the table. "I am not crazy."

The one next to him muttered. "I think you are-" Naruto found himself growling slightly. The other continued after being rudely interrupted. "You're the one that does have a tendency to expatiate about strange curses, and to fight with yourself... and lose."

Naruto perused the other, who was smirking. Then, Naruto's blue eyes narrowed. "That's private." Suddenly, the teacher shushed them, and Naruto went silent. The conversation was over, apparently since he wouldn't even look at the other person beside him.

. . . .

Sasuke went to his locker and got a pen. As he neared the door of the classroom, he saw the bright bubbly blond. The blond was nearly skipping into the class. Sasuke walked into the room, sat down next to the blond, and asked, "People say you're crazy. Is that so, dobe?" He watched the blond's buoyant mood disappear quickly.

"Shut up, teme." Naruto stated, "I am not crazy."

"I think you are," the blond cut him off with a angered noise. Sasuke added, "You're the one that does have a tendency to expatiate about strange curses and fight with yourself and lose." He smirked as he finally got the blond to scowl at him.

"That's private," the blond scoffed. Then, he was silenced by the teacher. Sasuke tried all class to get him to respond, but the conversation was indeed finished. The blond wouldn't even acknowledge him. As the bell rang, they all went to their next class, which was the gym. While everyone got into their provided gym clothes, Sasuke felt as if something was missing.

When he realized what it was, he saw Naruto barreling out of the locker room. The teacher, who was surprisingly the masked homeroom teacher, put down his book. "Today, we will start with dodge ball then at the bell we will use the equipment the school finally supplied us." Apparently, gym lasted two periods at this school, and gym was every day. Yesterday, they had to clean up the gym, today dodge ball.

Kakashi picked the teams and told them to start. After that, he paid little attention to the students, but rather to his book.

. . . .

Sasuke caught a ball flying at his side and expertly threw the ball at someone across the way. He almost laughed as the person he tried to hit ducked, and it wailed Naruto in the face. Naruto glared, clutching his nose. "You're out," someone screamed at him. When Naruto sat down, Sasuke picked up a ball and hit the girl with white eyes. It barely got her, since all of the people at this school were wickedly fast.

She sat down next to Naruto, who yelled out, "Get him out! I want to play, too!" The girl frowned at him slightly. Naruto was up on his feet as Sasuke caught another ball. "Throw the ball, not toss it!" Sasuke sighed, dodging a few balls. Naruto enthusiastically waved his arms around. "Come on, team up on him." Sasuke flipped back a few times then sideways to dodge four balls.

Then, one ball that was aimed at his chest whizzed at him. Sasuke fell and rolled to his feet to escape the blow. Out of nowhere, a ball hit his shoulder. He heard the blond's cheers as he and the white eyed girl walked onto the court. Sasuke sat as Naruto grinned at the pink haired girl. "Nice job, Sakura," Naruto beamed at her.

The girl grinned. "He deserved it." Sasuke raised a brow slowly. How did he exactly deserve that? Just because he messed around with people? Naruto threw a few balls, which hit their target each time. He jumped above a ball and chucked a ball at another. It hit again. He heard a yell and saw the pink haired girl get hit in the legs with three balls and fall to her stomach.

Sasuke stood up and walked onto the court. The ball Sasuke picked up darted across the way to hit the white-eyed girl real hard in the chest. She flew to the ground, and she stayed there for a few moments before walking off the court. Naruto glared at him furiously and grinned slightly evilly at the dog-boy. "Let's do the Terror Two, Kiba."

The dog-boy blinked then showed his canines in a smirk. "Oh yeah! This class just got interesting." He ran behind Naruto, and he ran right, while Naruto went straight. As they neared the line, Kiba threw his ball at Sasuke, leaping over the line at him. Sasuke caught it and nearly got tackled by the boy. As Sasuke turned away from Kiba's smirking, a ball smashed between his eyebrows.

People gasped as Sasuke stumbled and went to his knees, holding onto his forehead with his right hand. Naruto blinked, but stuck out his tongue when Sasuke glared up at him. The blond's reaction told him to never hurt that one girl... Hinata her name was... ever again. The blond gave a tiny grin. Kakashi sighed as a bell rang. He led the class to a relatively big room with blue mats laid down on the ground, equipment on the ground with even spacing in between each, and ropes in a small section that hung from the ceiling.

Naruto brightened. "I call dibs on the ropes!" He ran to the ropes and climbed up it before anyone could react.

Sasuke sighed weakly. This kid was energetic and annoying. He preferred the angry, depressive one. His eyes searched for the girl. As he went to go toward her, Kakashi asked him. "Have you picked a club yet?"

Sasuke stated. "I am not taking one."

"You have to, it's mandatory." Kakashi let out a sigh when Sasuke glared at him from the corner of his eyes. Kakashi continued. "Well, there is multiple clubs to choose from. They range from Art Club, whose president is Sai, to school related organizations like school cleanup, which is organized by Umino Iruka. If you like to participate not a lot like Naruto, you may want to try for school cleanup. All you do is make sure the trash is cleaned up after lunch, and Iruka- I mean Umino- does most of the work, if he's in a good mood that is." Kakashi gave a laugh at his last statement.

"I'll think about it," Sasuke stated coldly. Kakashi must realize that he didn't think of staying long. Sasuke went over to the girl named Hinata. He pulled her up to her feet and over to the mat. "I've heard you're good at fighting."

Hinata frowned, staring at the ground. With a shrug, she whispered. "Y-yes, slightly." She gazed around the room, sensing Naruto's gaze.

"Show me." Sasuke commanded. He didn't approve of being too mean to females, that just wasn't him, but he had to get rid of the Happy Naruto. He was driving Sasuke nuts.

Hinata gave a curt nod. She ran at Sasuke, who dodged and sent a slow fist at her. She took a step forward and hit him in the chest, which caused Sasuke to stumble. Naruto reached the middle of the circle that formed near the two sparring people. He gave Hinata a small smile. "Nice hit."

Hinata blushed a little, and she looked to Sasuke. Sasuke seemed to be looking at someone behind her. His eyes slid over to Hinata slowly, while his fist went at her. She turned to deflect most of the blow, but Sasuke reacted by kicking her legs out from underneath her. Hinata flipped once and then something strange happened. She hit him to his back with a single outstretched palm.

Sasuke could hear gasps and cheers, especially Naruto's. Sasuke was up quickly and flipped Hinata over his shoulder. Hinata blinked as she soared toward the badly placed equipment coming at her. Suddenly, she felt arms go around her and her feet touch the ground. "What the hell, Sasuke?" The voice the arm's belonged to said.

Sasuke shrugged one shoulder and stared at the other.

Naruto let go of Hinata and kneed Sasuke in the stomach. He whispered harshly in his ear. "Don't ever do that to her again. Kid." He felt Sasuke grab hold of his shirt, and in return, he did the same thing. Sasuke glared, but instead of glaring with those black eyes, Naruto saw red. Literally red eyes, full on red, bore into Naruto's. Sasuke saw the other's eyes change as he knew his had. The blond's eyes were not red, but yellow.

While the both kids' eyes changed, all the other students felt the room shake and the lights flickered. Thunder was heard from outside and lightning struck right next to the far corner of the room. Rain poured down all of a sudden, smashing the windows to open up from the force (of wind and rain). Things shook all around, but neither Sasuke nor Naruto noticed. They only glowered at each other.

It was starting, wasn't it?

**. . . .**

**(Well, that's the first chapter. I have no idea if there will be any romance crap, since I am not really good with it. However, if their is, it will be only a little. If you want a pairing, I can try to fit it in somewhere, but I don't know if it'll be all that great. I changed up both of Sasuke's and Naruto's past, so it will be different than what it should be. I will also take a little while for an update since I am also working on another story.)**


	2. It All Begins

**(I do not own anything but the plot. The madness all starts now!)**

**Chapter 2: It All Begins**

**. . .**

Lightning had shook the entire school as the two students glared at each other with yellow and red eyes. The rain poured into the windows, which the wind caused to open. Everyone was afraid, well pretty much everyone. Just as the one with yellow eyes raised a hand and punched the one with red eyes, a person with_ one_ red eye intervened. That's how it stopped. Class was ended early, and the chaos seemed to die down.

Somehow the four eyes returned normal, two becoming an onyx color and the other two slowly morphing into a blue color.

. . .

In the present, most of the students just finished changing and walked out of their locker rooms. Sasuke went back into the locker room for his pen and stopped. He saw the blond kid bouncing off the walls, literally. The blond leaped from one top of a locker to another then to a wall, doing back flips all the while. Sasuke watched the kid flip to the ground and stand there.

Sasuke first noticed the scars, and then he noticed the new looking bruises and cuts. Next he noticed the mark on the other's abdomen, and finally, Sasuke realized the other was completely naked and dripping from possibly the showers. Sasuke went to turn away, but the blue eyes stared at him. Sasuke lifted a brow in response. The blond's eyes widened, and he wildly grabbed a piece of clothing covering himself.

"I-I couldn't find my underwear." The other murmured, slipping on his seemingly just found boxers.

. . . .

Naruto had waited until everyone was out to take a shower and to then get dressed. However, for some odd reason, he decided to jump around. No one would come back in here, anyway. He jumped from locker to locker and wall to wall. Eventually, he landed on his feet in the middle of the locker room. He suddenly felt eyes on him, turned, and saw the raven haired Uchiha.

Naruto blinked, realizing he was completely bare. Scrambling for his boxers and slipping them on, he stammered. "I-I couldn't find my underwear." He really hoped he didn't see anything. He felt his face go hot, and he glared at the pants he was now putting on. Great, no one ever saw him naked, only his parents. He sighed slightly. He thought he heard Sasuke leave, then Naruto felt a pressure on his upper back between his shoulder blades.

Naruto whipped back his hand and struck the person behind him. "That hurts, butt hole," he glared at Sasuke, who was propped up onto the locker he was practically thrown into. Sasuke glared back at him, standing up straight. His eyes traveled to where he had touched. There was some type of swirling design there. Almost like what he had, except his was a different design, and he knew what his was.

Naruto had some type of symbol that the Uchiha didn't even recognize. Naruto grumbled to himself, pulled on his black long sleeve shirt, and left with the rest of his clothes in his hands. He stomped out, hearing Sasuke follow him after a few moments of retrieving his pen.

They both walked out into a blaze of white and black and people screaming. The white and black grabbed hold of Naruto and Sasuke. They were thrown into a tunnel of white and black, eventually leading to darkness.

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes and sat up with a groan. He looked at his surroundings. _Wonderland?_ He glared as he saw the raven hair. _Why the hell is _he_ here?! _When he stood, Sasuke sighed in his own standing position, which had him leaning against a gnarly tree trunk that belonged to a huge towering twisted tree. Sasuke also had a major change in his clothing. He wore a sleeveless dark gray high-collared shirt that was slightly open at the torso, a purple belt draped across his waist with a scabbard type thing of some sort, black pants, a cloth (the color of indigo) that started from his lower abdomen and went to his knees, and his normal dark-colored sandals.

Sasuke straightened as Naruto walked over, who had on what he had on the first time except the black vest-cloak was gone, and the white long sleeve had a higher collar and reached past his knees. The shirt was also open all the way down the middle to the end of the now cloak object (like a cloak does), and he had on a black and orange t-shirt underneath it.

"Do you have any idea how we got here?" Naruto asked him, slowly, and studied the other's reaction. Sasuke gave no response, but just a stare in his general direction. "Do you even know _where_ we are, hotshot," Naruto added, getting slightly annoyed with the silent treatment. Once again, he received no response. Sasuke honestly didn't respond because he wanted to see how long the blond would last without blowing a fuse. Naruto huffed and stomped off. "Whatever, don't answer me butt hole."

Sasuke followed the angered blond, arms crossed. He noticed the swirling symbol was on Naruto's white cloak, directly where it was in the kid's skin. _Strange._ Naruto glanced back at him and glared. "What do you want from me? Find your own way out of here."

Sasuke stopped just as Naruto sat on the ground. With his head in his hands, the blond mumbled things to himself. One thing Sasuke caught was, "Now I'm really in trouble..." Naruto glanced up at the other male with a frown. The raven haired boy stared back, wondering what was the kid's deal. Naruto smiled thinly, which also seemed forced. "I guess I won't be getting rid of you for a while. So, hello, I'm Naruto," his hand came up.

Sasuke stared at it, making no move to take it.

Naruto whipped his hand on the side of his pants. "You don't talk much, I've realized, except to make derogatory remarks." He let out a sigh. "Alright... so..? Uhm, yeah, where are your parents?" His blue eyes looked up at the standing child. Slowly, Sasuke sat down next to him, still not saying a word. He waited for Naruto to continue speaking. "Well, have you ever been here before?"

"No," Sasuke, at last, answered.

Naruto hugged his knees. "My parents are alive, you know." Naruto looked for a reaction, but received none. "Many don't believe me, but I tell you they always find me. No matter what. And I know it's them and not my 'adopted' parents. My adopted parents are Anko and Ibiki, who have dark hair or no hair. My real parents are Minato and Kushina, my mother has red hair, and my father looked quite a lot like me. He had blond hair." He paused. "Plus, Anko and Ibiki are almost never home."

Sasuke asked. "What did you say your parents looked like?"

"My mother has red hair, my father looks like me, pay attention." Naruto glared slightly at the other, who was now standing. "What-" His eyes widened, and he jumped to his feet. There was two people in front of the children. Naruto backed up slowly, going behind Sasuke.

"Who's your friend, Naruto, honey," the woman asked cheerfully, while the man rested a hand on her shoulder.

"N-no one, m-mother," Naruto whispered.

The woman glared at Naruto. "Speak properly when I'm talking to you." Then, her eyes slid to Sasuke. "Sasuke Uchiha, well, well." She gave a smile and pushed her red hair back. How did she know Sasuke's name? Carefully, Sasuke took a step back as the woman came forward. "What a pretty name, don't you agree Minato?"

The man next to the redheaded woman gave a nod. He smiled brightly at the two children. Sasuke glanced over his shoulder at Naruto's slightly shaky form. How was he terrified of these people? They were better than his parents. Naruto's eyes widened more as Sasuke stumbled when something rushed past him. Then, Naruto screamed. When Sasuke regained his balance, he saw two very angry parents towering over the blond.

Naruto held his head, while in the fertile position. "I swear I didn't do it... I didn't, I promise," Naruto whispered slightly. Sasuke went over; he never thought he'd see the blond ever act the way he was now. _How pathetic_, he thought. The woman, no doubt Kushina, slapped the boy out of nowhere and yelled something quite vulgar.

Now it was Minato's turn. He kicked Naruto's side. "Quit it, and stand up. She is only toughening you up. Now stand!" Naruto gritted his teeth as his yellow hair was yanked upward by his father. When he put his feet on the ground, Naruto ended back on the ground by a hand at his face.

Sasuke cleared his throat to get the parents' attention, and for a second he did. They had turned to him with slight smiles, but after that they advanced on Naruto. Sasuke stepped in between them. "The wimp has had enough, can't you tell?"

"HEY!" Naruto glared weakly. Kushina glared, while Minato's mouth went in a straight line. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, daring them to hit him. Kushina raised a hand, but just before it came down Naruto pulled him out of the way. Sasuke propped himself onto his elbows. "Do you have a death wish, Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked to the blond's parents. They both could have hit him if they really tried, so why didn't they? Then, it clicked. They're not real, only in the blond's head. That's why they knew his name! He stood as Minato struck Naruto and went for him. It didn't connect. They could only inflict damage on the blond. Naruto must have noticed that, since he grew confused. Sasuke told him to make them disappear, or, in a way, will them to disappear.

. . .

Naruto frowned as his "parents" disappeared from sight. They weren't real. Thy didn't exist, so they were dead. They died from that car crash so many years ago. Naruto bit his lip, putting a finger to his bruise that was on his cheek._ Then how was this here?_ He stood up, sluggishly. _They aren't alive._ He hugged himself, totally forgetting the bastard for a few moments. _All this time-_

Sasuke elbowed him in the side and walked forward. Naruto followed him. After a little while, Naruto noticed that Sasuke seemed to know where he was going. "I thought you said you never came here before." He eyed him, suspiciously. Sasuke completely ignored him. Naruto stated. "If you never been here before, why do you know it, hm..? Do you even tell a single fact?!" He gasped. "I bet you aren't even allergic to dogs-"

Sasuke shushed him, as he stopped walking. Naruto's brows crunched downward as he scowled. Sasuke grabbed his wrist and shoved him forward. Naruto stumbled. "Watch it!" Sasuke shoved him again. This time Naruto fell to his face. Sasuke sighed, yanking him up to his feet, and dragging him across the forest floor. Naruto collided with a root and clung to it. "No-No I won't let you. I won't let you touch me! Nuuuuu! I'm a fricken virgin!"

"What the hell are you blabbering about?" Sasuke pried his fingers off the root. "Let it go."

"No, you won't take me to your evil lair!" He grabbed hold of a tree trunk, shaking his head vigorously.

Sasuke exhaled sharply, leaning his back against the tree next to him. _We don't have time for this._ He stared back where they had come from and tensed a bit. He heard a weird sound, like something was whistling. Both kids looked at each other and saw a ball of something fly directly at them. Easily, they both leaped back to avoid getting hit. What approached them was a giant teapot with one red eye and had three legs that held it up.

Naruto tilted his head. He thought that Eyepots were located where the Mad Hatter stayed. Sasuke went for it. Naruto laughed a bit, since how would Sasuke know how to attack its eye. However, Sasuke punched the red eye, unexpectedly. The Eyepot reared back, and Sasuke dodged its legs. Naruto looked around, picked up a rock, and grinned.

Sasuke dodged another of the weird contraption's attacks, but as he went to charge at it, Naruto leaped off his back. A loud noise echoed through the forest as a rock Naruto had in his hand smashed into the eye. Suddenly, the creature slumped and then disappeared. Naruto beamed. "Uzumaki saved the day!" Sasuke forced himself to not roll his eyes. He decided now it was time to keep going, as did the blond, (since they both went to walking).

Naruto smiled, gleefully. "I totally saved your butt." Sasuke raised a brow at him. Naruto laughed at that, going slightly ahead. He ended up walking backwards. "Hey Sasuke, do you have parents?"

"I _did_."

Naruto nodded with a frown. He couldn't help himself. "How did they, you know, pass away?"

Sasuke stared emotionless at the other. "I had to kill them."

"What?!" Naruto blinked at him. "Why would you-"

"I had too." Sasuke's gaze traveled away from the younger one. "Just drop the subject and maybe you won't be next."

Naruto, being the stubborn child, stared him down and stopped directly in front of him. "What did they do to deserve that? I didn't even attempt to do that to 'my parents.' Plus, I will keep on bothering you until you tell me." He grinned. "Why? WHY?! Huh? Why, why, why, why, why? Hm? Why did you kill them? Why did you have to? Why? Huh, huh, huh? You could have lied about killing them. However, if that is the only fact you ever told me, then tell me why. Why, huh?! Why Sasuke!?" Naruto saw Sasuke's eye twitch, and Naruto continued repeating 'why,' while getting louder with each one.

"Okay, shut up already," growled Sasuke, making Naruto blink. The glare the Uchiha gave the other could have churned milk instantly. "It was either me or my brother. I decided," he let out a breath slowly, "that since he was just starting to put his life together, and I really haven't started living, that I should do it. Little did I know, his so-called job was to eliminate the whole Uchiha Clan. I ended up taking the whole job for _him_."

Sasuke paused. He glared at the ground. "Then, Itachi left me, probably thinking I'd go after him, but I couldn't... I can't believe he left me, after I did that for him. He's got some nerve." He clenched his fists at his side. "He's been off the grid, so I had to keep moving, searching." His black eyes traveled to Naruto's face. "No, I never thought much of adoptive parents, since they tie you to one place, and I can't afford to be 'tied down' to anything."

"What happens after you kill Itachi," Naruto questioned softly. "You'll have nothing. It's better to have someone, or a bond to fall back on. Life isn't worth it if no one's there for you, and everyone has someone."

"Apparently, I don't." Sasuke pushed past Naruto. He covered his feelings by growling softly. Naruto followed slowly. Sasuke rubbed his temples, while frowning, hoping the blond didn't see. He calmly looked over his shoulder. "This is where we go our separate ways." He left the younger child standing there, and he walked for a while. _Stupid blond dobe..._ He stopped, hearing a rustle. Gritting his teeth, he got ready.

He had no weapon, and it was just sooo convenient that no rocks were nearby. He would just have to use his hands, hopefully it would a slightly easier opponent. He didn't really feel up to fighting at this moment, anyway. Something black slithered its way from a bush. It resembled a black slug the size of a grown _man's_ torso, so definitely not the size of Naruto's (if you get what I mean).

Taking out his frustration on the weird slug creature, he stomped on its body. It simply exploded to reveal these weird teeth shaped objects. Now Sasuke wished there were more, and he smirked as he heard another, louder rustle nearby. Something came crashing toward him, and out of reflex, Sasuke expertly threw his fist at where he thought the head to be. It connected directly on its head, since the thing was human, and Naruto.

Sasuke sighed, crossing his arms over his chest and leaned back slightly. "Humph." Blue eyes narrowed at him as the blue eyes' owner held his nose. In Sasuke's opinion, he did quite a number on the stupid idiot. He would have smirked, but he suddenly left his feet and collided face-first into the ground. "I'm totally kicking your ass, Uzumaki." He stood, but wasn't facing the blond, but someone with dark hair.

. . . .

Naruto watched Sasuke leave, and Naruto turned the opposite way. He played with his collar, unconsciously. He knew Sasuke thought him pathetic now or weak, but he didn't really mind. He wasn't going to fight his parents, even though they weren't exactly them. He knew better. _Probably unlike Sasuke_, he grumbled inside his head. After what he guessed to be a few minutes, he saw raven hair, and he thought (for less than a second) that it was Sasuke.

Instead, the new arrival had on a black cloak with a white and red symbol, which was all over the cloak. Plus, the new arrival had scars or marks on his cheeks, not Sasuke. Also, the other was indeed older and taller than Sasuke. The figure approached him. The figure's eyes were red, like Sasuke's tend to do when he got angry. Naruto decided it was best to turn the other way. _Time to leave._

Then, he felt fingers slid around his neck and tighten. The guy had black fingernails and a ring on his finger. Definitely not Sasuke. Naruto went airborne into a tree. Naruto leaped up to his feet. All those ten years of his mind's tricks using his parents helped him in that instant. He darted the opposite way from the stranger. It hurt slightly to run, but he was used to it.

He glanced over his shoulder, seeing the person walking after him. Yeah, I meant to put down _Walking_. Naruto picked up some speed, tripping a few times and getting to his feet. Wow, that guy was fast! He crashed though some bushes and something slammed into his face. He heard a crack along with the initial impact noise. Then, his butt smashed the ground, and out of shock, he narrowed his eyes.

He had his hand over his nose, just as the figure appeared out of nowhere and Sasuke went flying, seemingly from the figure's hand. "I'm totally kicking your ass, Uzumaki," he heard Sasuke growl. When Sasuke rose to his feet, he froze. Naruto stared between the two, as the stranger stated.

"Hello, Little Brother."

**. . .**

**(Chapter 2 finished! If you haven't read the first, you should, since it is important, even if it is boring. I don't know how long the new chapters will be, but we're see.)**


	3. Meeting Her, Alice

**(I own nothing but the plot.)**

**Chapter 3: Meeting Her, Alice**

**. . .**

Sasuke just stood there, emotionless and staring. Naruto blinked, still at his sitting position on the ground,_ brother? _Sasuke suddenly narrowed his eyes and darted at, who Naruto concluded to be, Itachi. Naruto gaped as Itachi dodged easily, while Sasuke received an elbow toward his face, which the younger Uchiha deflected it which a forearm at the last moment.

Instantly, both sent a few punches at each other, dodged, and stepped back from each other. While Naruto slowly stood, he noticed something almost appear in the eldest sibling's hand. It was a black dagger item that had a type of bandage wrapped around the handle until it stopped at the ring/end of the dagger. It was a kunai, Naruto knew it, and he knew Itachi intended to use it.

Sasuke's eyes didn't even go to it, but his body seemed to grow a little more tense. Itachi took the first move, going forward with the same astonishing speed as before (like when he "chased" Naruto, but faster), and the blade went toward Sasuke's mid-section. Sasuke slid sideways on his feet, only to be flung into the air and flipping onto his knees and balanced with an outstretched right hand on the ground, Sasuke's eyes swirled red. The eyes met up to another pair of similar red eyes.

When Sasuke charged at Itachi, he went at Itachi as fast as he could. Itachi just watched the younger raven haired teen. Sasuke smirked as his fist landed with Itachi's face, only to notice too late that it wasn't his brother. This... copy of Itachi _exploded _\- literally - making Sasuke jump back to escape most of the blow and felt a sharp pain in his back (probably from an elbow). Falling into a one-handed cartwheel, he, somehow, clipped Itachi in the chin by his heel.

Itachi didn't seem at all fazed when Sasuke turned back to him. However, something whizzed from Itachi's hand and came at him. Sasuke dodged most of the impact, but what got him was the edge of the blade. It skimmed his shoulder as another came at his face, only to be stopped by Sasuke's hands grabbing the handle. Narrowing his eyes, he threw the kunai at Itachi, knowing Itachi would catch it, which he did, and Sasuke nearly knocked him over to tackle him down.

Itachi suddenly appeared behind Naruto with the blade under Naruto's chin and pressed to his throat. Naruto did his best to glare at him, which was fairly easy since Itachi was off to the side. Technically, Itachi was not using his body for protection because if he was then he'd be directly behind Naruto. Itachi stated. "Don't make me hurt your friend."

Sasuke smirked. "Go ahead kill him, it'll save me the trouble." He had the other kunai that was Itachi's and twirled it around his right index finger.

Out of anger from both siblings, who were acting if he wasn't there, Naruto jumped right in front of Itachi, stomped on his foot, elbowed him in the ribs, and head-butted him with the back of his head. Itachi's grip loosened enough for Naruto to shove himself forward for Itachi to only grab hold of him again. This time his grip was iron. "Let go of me," started the slightly angered Naruto.

Then, from a ridge nearby, they all heard a laugh. "Hey, Itachi, when you're done, can I eat them?" Sasuke and Naruto looked up along a cliff to see a blue, yeah I meant to put blue (not white or black), person that resembled a walking human hybrid shark person.

Itachi stared over at Sasuke for any sign of attack. "I didn't think you ate people." He stated roughly.

All of a sudden, the body Itachi was holding shook some, while a sound bubbled up from within it. Naruto was _laughing_. "How do you intend to 'eat' him?" Naruto questioned through his laugh. (Yes, I know he needs better jokes, but in some tense situations you just can't help but laugh randomly at something so stupid.)

Sasuke's brow slowly came up. _What the hell is wrong with this kid?_ He watched as the blond chuckled more and eventually reaching a full-out laugh again. _The stupid blond must be the comical relie_f, Sasuke concluded, _And a pervert_. "He won't eat me in any way." He expressed, voice monotone.

Naruto gasped through another fit of laughter. "You sure a... about th... at?! I think the fish stick has other plans." He was grinning widely.

The shark man shrugged with a slight narrow of his eyes. "Typically I don't eat them, but Zetsu suggested it, and I might make an exception for that brat." Itachi's now-black eyes drifted up to the other in question, as if asking _are you really following Zetsu's suggestion_? The shark man laughed. "Well, we have to go, Itachi."

Sasuke chose that time to go at Itachi, but was sent to his back with a weight on his stomach. When Sasuke propped himself onto his elbows, his eyes narrowed at Itachi, who jumped up to the cliff the other man was on.

Naruto remembered the sudden burst of movement as Itachi sent him forward, making Sasuke run head-on into Naruto. Now Naruto put out his hands to push himself off of Sasuke's stomach, since he landed sideways on the other. His blue eyes glared at the two people, which the same black cloak, he might add.

"Our fight must be set at a pause, brother," Itachi stated. "We'll resume, that is, if you survive that long." They disappeared, only to be replaced with a huge herd of, for a lack of a better word, monsters. Naruto and Sasuke were surrounded by them on all sides, especially along the side of the cliff. Naruto climbed to his feet, just as Sasuke rose up to his feet. Surprisingly, (and annoyingly to Naruto), Sasuke reached his feet much more gracefully than the blond.

Naruto looked around. "Dang! That's a lot-"

"Shut... the hell up... you fuzz bag." Sasuke commanded him, eyes closed.

"Rude much," grumbled Naruto, fingers combing through his blond strands, just as the monsters started forward. Preparing to fight, Naruto got in a stance with a grin, despite the upcoming doom. Also, the bruise on his face was almost completely gone, so it almost seemed to disappear as the grin grew wider.

Sasuke's eyelids rose up slowly to reveal the onyx color of his eyes as something blue _fluttered _through the sea of monsters. In an instant, ten of the monsters were frozen. They just stayed there, until they either fell forward or exploded. Soon the blue reached over to behind Naruto, who jumped back to stare.

"Alice, is that you?" Naruto's face brightened faintly.

The blue formed into a person, a girl with black hair and green eyes. The eyes stared at the bouncing blond for a few moments, and then slid over toward Sasuke. Sasuke gave her a glare, which she didn't seem to care about. "So typical." Her accent was thick as she said a name. "Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed more. _How the hell does _she_ know my name?_

The girl, Alice as Naruto told you, walked ahead, and getting the clue from her, Naruto followed. Sasuke noticed that the rest of the creatures that remained drifted into the shadows. Naruto started blabbering about what Wonderland used to be, at least to him. Cheerfully, he continued. Now, how Sasuke dreadfully needed that one girl here. The blond was so getting on his nerves.

Alice stated. "Yes, my Wonderland is shattered." Her eyes pierced Naruto's opal eyes.

Naruto frowned weakly. "It surely seems that way, doesn't it?" He laughed, filled with nervousness and worry. "Perhaps not forever." He beamed. "I mean, maybe this curse is screwing everything up, and after the curse is over, Wonderland will become normal. As much as it was before, at least."

Alice looked away from him, straight ahead as a black building rose above some of the trees. The building was extremely tall and had a long ladder that led to the balcony. The balcony went around in a full circle, complementing the round form of the building. It looked like an observatory on a pair of stilts; it even had a split middle that had glass on the roof.

Naruto looked like a child in a_ book_ store. He eyed the building. "What is this place?"

Alice ignored him, opened the door, and walked in. Sasuke's thin brow raised up at Naruto as he passed, one arm resting on his scabbard and the other cockily at his hip. Naruto stuck out his tongue; it was just a reaction, or starting to become one now. He went in after them and gasped. "WOW!" The door clicked shut behind him as he stared around. Inside the building, it looked like it was night with sparkling lights that slightly resembled stars. The interior was black walls, dark gray floors, and the ceiling was a mix of different sized "stars."

In the middle of the room, was a giant circular object, shining its white light in small streams around the room. Rushing over to the railing that enclosed off the giant object from them, Naruto laughed some. "What is this?" He grinned, almost bouncing with curiosity, as he gazed over to Alice. Alice didn't respond, but Naruto didn't really care. When he directed his attention over to the big object, he watched the white swirl around another color to create a patch of purple light.

_This is better than a ramen shop_\- he stopped himself- _No, not that amazing, maybe a candy shop, yeah. Just not ramen._ He nodded to himself.

Sasuke sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he leaned his back against the railing. Alice gazed over at Sasuke and walked closer to the railing. Then, she gave a gesture with her hand. Naruto gaped and smacked Sasuke's arm. "Look!" He was laughing again. "Look at what you're wearing!"

Actually, Sasuke didn't really want to look now. However, he did. Inside the white object, a picture spiraled into focus. It looked like him, but younger, as if he was six. His bangs were shorter than they were now, and his height was a great difference, obviously. He blinked at what he was wearing, eyes instantly narrowing. He was wearing-

"A DRESS! Oh man, I always knew you were more feminine than me!" Naruto snickered, voice laced with pure amusement. "I would totally date you, if you weren't a guy. You definitely look more beautiful than most girls!" By now, Naruto was nearly on the floor, clutching the railing and his stomach. He was laughing so hard that he barely stood up on his feet. He laughed even harder at Alice's next statement.

"He thought himself as a girl," stated Alice.

Sasuke's eyes sent daggers at them both, more Naruto than Alice.

Naruto chuckled. "Alright, alright, I'm done..." He grinned. "At least I know what to get for you as a birthday present, though." He received a crack to the head from a clearly ticked off Sasuke. He nearly fell over the railing, but managed to stay on his feet, and finally, he got rid of his chuckles and laughs.

Sasuke had a tight grip on the railing with both hands as he glared at the image. That kid, Sasuke refused to call it himself, had on a puffy knee-length dark blue dress under a white apron (aka a pinafore). - It looks like the dress the blonde Alice wore in the animated Alice in Wonderland-

"Plus side, it wasn't pink," Naruto's voice came from nearby.

Sasuke started to hear a ringing, shutting his eyes, and growled softly. He really felt like he had only one option, one _bad_ option. Naruto heard Sasuke's growl, knowing it could not end well. If he actually killed his parents, he most likely would kill a... well, basically a stranger. Instead, Sasuke exhaled, stood up straight, and stared calmly ahead. "That is not me."

Alice put a hand on top of the white sphere, and something strange occurred. The image erupted from between her fingers and shot at Sasuke. Sasuke flew to his back from the impact.

. . . .

Images attacked his brain. The kid from before with the blue dress flashed before his eyes, eyes lit up and giggling. Then, it swung out of his view and was replaced with the same kid glaring. Suddenly, he seemed to be sucked into the kid and seeing through his eyes. Something hit his throat, and his eyes looked down to see red, which slipped out of his fingers when his hand went to the wound.

He yelled out as he was shoved off a cliff. Air rushed up at him, as did the ground. When he hit the ground, he grunted (the cliff seemed to have been only a few feet up). Darkness invaded his sight directly after he hit. A swirl of purple went through the darkness, and he saw something that looked familiar. It was the Uchiha Symbol. The symbol shot at his face, but he couldn't move.

Something swam in the darkness, actually, no, it slithered toward him. It flashed into his face, mouth open with its fangs rushing out him. He couldn't help but try to escape, even though it was futile. The creature, which he came to realize was a black (smokey-looking) snake, disappeared as he shut his eyes. He opened them to see red. Red here, red there, blood... and those _eyes_.

He realized he was standing, staring at the red liquid coating his hands, sliding down toward his wrists. Heat came out of nowhere, and fire exploded into his view. He wanted to scream, to yell, or to move, but he did nothing. He smelt flesh burning, nose scrunching up. Other than that movement, he did nothing; he barely even felt his chest rise and fall. He wanted to make himself go, but he couldn't budge.

He stayed there as the heat and pain arrived. All he could focus on was the searing pain.

He needed to leave.

_Now._

However, he just stood there with the heat, the pain, everything, encasing him at once. Then, he rushed to his back from an extreme force and screamed as he stared at a ceiling. His head felt like it was going to explode. All he felt now was pain. No burning flesh smell, no smell at all. He was accompanied by only the agony and his shrieks/screams.

. . .

Alice and Naruto watched as Sasuke just laid on his back, staring at the ceiling unblinking. Sasuke's eyes abruptly widened as he jumped to his feet. He swayed, clutched his head with one hand, and fell into the wall. His head connected with the wall, while his right hand also went to the wall to stabilize him slightly. He breathed in shallow breaths, left fingertips skimmed along the wall, and eyes shut tightly.

"Sasuke..." Naruto started. "Hey you okay?" He went forward a few steps. "Say something, you bastard." He tried to see the other's face. Sasuke let his forehead rest against the wall, focusing on the coldness and nothing else. He didn't hear anything, no sound at all, just silence. Now Naruto grew worried. Sasuke wasn't even angry at the insult. Sasuke didn't even seem to be listening to him.

Naruto went to yell again, but instantly shut up, Sasuke's eyes had snapped open. They were red and dangerously wild. "What. Did. You. Do?" He turned his hateful eyes onto the only female in the room.

Naruto scratched the back of his neck, a nervous trait he obtained when he was younger. "She told me it was your memories." _It's not a dream; it's a memory_, said Alice just a little bit before Sasuke "escaped" his memories.

That's insane! Sasuke remembered where the fire came from, the blood, and everything, but the cliff section, the agony at the end, and the snake, which reminded him of something, but he could not place it, were totally new to him. What were those then?

"More will arrive," Alice's calm voice commented, despite the red eyes on her. Her stare did not falter either.

Naruto flashed a smile mixed of nervousness and curiosity. "Did you see anything you remembered? How about something amazing?" The only response Naruto received was a glare. Sasuke was definitely not telling his experience to the blond, since the dumb ass already knew too much on his life anyways, which Sasuke doubted Naruto realized. "You don't have to glare you know. I didn't do anything to you," grumbled Naruto, annoyance shown on his features as his arms crossed each other.

Sasuke leaned the top portion of his back on the wall, while glaring at the ground and arms crossing over his chest. He found the floor more entertaining than the ones around him. Alice decided to address their weapon issues, since currently they had obtained none. Survival was best if you had some sort of advantage. She told them they needed to locate some. "They are nearby," she added.

Naruto grinned, throwing his arms up. "Sweet~!" He went for the exit and said. "I'll meet you back here once I find some," and with a nod to Alice, he took his leave. Sasuke debated on staying put, going out alone, or going with the blond. He left the building. There was no way in heck he was staying there, especially with Alice. He approached the door, only to be blocked by a small figure.

It was Alice.

Sasuke glowered at her, anticipating a fight. Instead, she gave him a ruffled piece of parchment. "Perhaps, reading this shall help." As Sasuke took the paper, Alice was replaced with a lot of blue butterflies. The group of butterflies zipped out the window soon after. Sasuke did not read the paper nor did he use the ladder. He jumped down the few stories with ease and landed perfectly on his two feet.

Naruto noticed the piece of paper Sasuke held and tilted his head. "What's it say?" He expected Sasuke to read it, but the other let out a soft huff and threw it in Naruto's general direction. Catching it, he unfolded it to see it was partially torn, but the writing was unmistakably there. He first read it in his head and bit his bottom lip. Then, he read it aloud for Sasuke to hear, even if the raven didn't bother to listen.

"'To Reverse the Curse. The green eyes will begin their course. Sacrifice oneself to save the world. Or suffer with anyone that never could. Let them die. Or reach the sky. Their choice will determine fate. Or possibly the date.'" He read with a shudder. "Strange... So basically the person to save us has green eyes?"

Sasuke looked away from Naruto's gaze. "Hn," was the only reply.

Naruto let out a breath slowly. "And they must 'sacrifice' their own life to save us." He paused, now starting to only talk to himself. "A choice... they can choose to live, or to die for everyone else." His mind quickly went into overdrive to who it could be, face determined. "Alice has green eyes, perhaps she-" Sasuke walked past him. Naruto hurriedly caught up with the other. "Do you think she could..."

Sasuke scowled. "Enough." Naruto glared slightly at him. Of course, he forgot Sasuke was a totally obsessed jerk. Sasuke obviously didn't care. Naruto stuffed the paper in his pocket, staring straight ahead. They walked in silence for some time until Naruto broke the silence.

"Unless there's more people here with green eyes, but so far she's the only one here." Naruto didn't really seem to be addressing Sasuke, however Sasuke looked out of the corner of his eye. Naruto glanced at his hands. "It sucks that they would have to die, though." Sasuke made a noise that resembled a snort. Naruto stuck out his tongue at him. "Any _normal_ person would rather live than die."

Sasuke walked without responding. Naruto gazed at him, suddenly thinking he said the wrong thing. "But whose normal here," he tried a short laugh. He saw Sasuke sit on a rock and close his eyes once again. Naruto squirmed, shifting his weight to one foot to another. Sasuke heard the blond move around._ Maybe he has ADHD or something._ He was really making it hard to concentrate.

Sasuke heard Naruto start pacing and mumbling to himself. He gripped the bridge of his nose tightly as the other keep moving around. The noise was irritating until he heard a thud. Glancing up, he saw Naruto staring up at the sky on his back. Naruto was frowning and looking puzzled. Sasuke felt like telling him to forget about the stupid paper and man the heck up. He stopped as Naruto spoke again.

His voice was softer than before. "You know I don't even know my age." Sasuke shrugged one shoulder, uncaring. Naruto continued, just gazing upward. "I know you don't care, but I only remember up to my fifth birthday, right before the car accident. Then, I don't remember anything else. I think I'm sixteen, but I don't have a clue." He bit his lip, brows scrunching together some. "On my sixth birthday I got the present of dead parents and a present from the villagers."

He stopped talking altogether for a few minutes; Sasuke was slightly curious, none of it showed on his face though. Naruto forced himself to start again. "Wanna know what they got me?" He laughed bitterly. "A stab in the back, literally. They stabbed me with a fricken knife. Six times for six birthdays. Don't get me wrong, they did worse than that, even when my parents were alive. My dad was powerful, sure, but he couldn't stop everything."

Once again he paused, but then he sat up and glanced over at Sasuke. He saw an unreadable expression on the other's face. Naruto turned his back to him again. "Each time after that they always gave me one stab for each birthday. And other presents if I weren't lucky." He turned back with a small smile. "Could you do me a favor? Could you count have many? I can't exactly see my back." He chuckled lightly, raising the back of his shirts up over his head.

Sasuke stared at the light scars; he hadn't remembered seeing them in the locker room, maybe because the scars shown up light, and they were surprisingly clean cuts. There was also other scars over them. He counted them, not just to humor the blond either. One, two, three... fourteen, fifteen... "Sixteen," He said coldly. Even though presently he put up an uncaring shield, inside he felt angered. While his blank stare drifted onto his face, he couldn't help, but despise even more people.

People did _that_ to a young child. What event occurred for the outward aggression of a toddler (and younger/older) to be routine? Why did they seem to hate the kid for probably just being born? - Wait - why was he caring? Sasuke shut off all of those thoughts, shut them right out of his mind. He made sure he had on his normal look of boredom and impassiveness. He just stared coldly at the other.

Naruto smiled at him anyways. "Thanks." He adjusted his clothing. "How old are you?" He wasn't expecting an answer and wasn't disappointed. He grinned; he was going to get an answer one way or another. "Do you want me to guess..? I am really annoying, you know that." He opened his mouth and retried asking his "how old are you" question.

Sasuke caved faster than Naruto initially thought he would, which made Naruto blink. "Sixteen," the raven uttered lowly, "I think." Naruto cocked his head to the side, wanting an explanation. Sasuke didn't look at him, instead he gazed to the right. "Ten years... since my parents death. I can only remember the years I've been focused on achieving my goal. I..." His mask slipped slightly, confusion and exasperation firmly taken hold for only a split second. "I think I was..." Eyebrows scrunched together again, quickly disappearing once it showed on his face. "I was... six when they died."

He had his eyes closed again. Naruto reached his feet. "Another question-" Sasuke glared venomously. Naruto just paused and kept going, " just one more. Do you think that guy would actually eat me? I mean, yeah he looks like a shark, but he's also human, like. And that Zetsu guy, do you think-"

"He doesn't eat junk food."

Naruto laughed. "And here I thought you were so serious." Sasuke was downright serious, his look telling the blond so. Naruto slung an arm around Sasuke's shoulders, who instantly tensed. "Aw~ I love you too, Sasuke," he chuckled.

"Are you gay?" A black brow stretched up.

Suddenly, Naruto's face went straight right away, laughter died in his throat, and he stepped away from him. "Hell no." He didn't feel any bad feelings toward someone who liked the same sex, but the way Sasuke asked it made it seem like it was set in stone. Almost as if Sasuke had made his mind up. Almost as if it was a done deal. He did NOT appreciate it, that's for sure, and he was definitely straight, he knew for certain. "I just thought, since girls and their friends joke around like that, you wouldn't mind." A grin wedged itself on the blond's face. "Especially when you are-"

Sasuke growled, efficiently shutting up the boy. After what felt like a few minutes passed, Sasuke's body moved on its own accord, past Naruto and down a hill. His eye twitched slightly; he was hearing a noise, and what annoyed him most was that he couldn't seem to pinpoint it exactly. Naruto kept pace alongside him with ease. He wondered why Sasuke went one way, turned another, went back a few steps, and went a totally different way from before.

Watching Sasuke look around after some time, a sigh escaped Naruto's lips. Sasuke went down a turn; however, Naruto paused in his steps and stared off. Before he thought out his actions, he abandoned Sasuke's way and went back to the bottom of the hill and took a left. _What was that?!_ Naruto blinked, grinned, and almost ran to what made him so excited. Instead, he hesitated again, hearing Sasuke grumble behind him.

PMSing boy was probably ticked that Naruto found them first. He grinned. "In your face," he murmured in triumph since he felt something was not right. Sasuke, oblivious to the uncomfortable touch to the atmosphere, walked toward the treasures that were located only around ten yards away. Luckily for him, Naruto yanked him back. Sasuke almost shoved him when Naruto shook his head at Sasuke. Why the hell is this boy even attempting to tell him what to do!

Naruto picked up a stick and tossed it forward. A moments pause after the stick hit the ground. Sasuke thought angrily, _the kid is so s-_

Suddenly, the ground shook and various explosions sounded, just as both teens dove out of harms way. Sasuke blinked, ears ringing. He would have never guessed there would be mines. In Wonderland, typically there weren't mines everywhere, unless someone set them there.

Instantly, Naruto's mind went to the red and white cloud over the black cloak. _Could they..? Hm._ He bit the inside of his cheek, thinking deeply. He found himself pacing, a hand to his chin, and the other hand gripping his other arm's elbow. _Unless, more people are here_, he almost yelled in delight. He wouldn't have stay with the insufferable Sasuke the whole time. His blue eyes squinted at Sasuke, who just wiped off the dust from his clothes in deep concentration.

Naruto had no idea what Sasuke was thinking about, but he didn't feel the need to ask. Sasuke thought about the scene that had just played before him. Naruto basically saving him from exploding. Despite knowing it was impossible, he told himself an absolute lie: he would have been completely fine; he would have finally realized it and avoided the demise. He gazed up to see Naruto looking at the treasure they so, well, needed, according to Alice.

"I've got a plan." Naruto's blue eyes shot to Sasuke, face in a wide goofy grin. "Alright, if we go through the tree, we'll be clear of mines, and we can see anything- or anyone- who would be guarding those weapons."

"How about you do that," stated Sasuke as he went off.

Angrily, Naruto stalked after the other male. "Hey, don't you want that sword! I'm not getting it for you, lazy bum-" He watched as Sasuke was reading a piece of paper, and he nearly laughed when Sasuke's face went bright red at what was on the paper. He went over and sat down on this weird looking rock. "Hey that's Ten Ten's writing-"

Dark eyes met blue eyes. "Ten Ten?"

"Yeah, she's usually with Neji, who's Hinata's cousin by the way, and she has brown hair. You probably met her before we came here."

Sasuke glared at the white of the paper, not on the words. _Ten Ten was brunette, then who was the other girl._ A flash of pink hit his eyelids. "What did you call that pink haired banshee, again?"

Naruto thought. "Oh, Sakura?" He grinned. "You don't want to get her angry, trust me it won't be pretty. She nearly punched me through a window when I asked about _a_ forehead." He shrugged and read the paper. Now it was his time to grow pink, not red, but a very soft pink. Sasuke realized that the banshee- Sakura- was the messenger for Ten Ten's... whatever the heck it was. It was disturbing, that's what it was. He nearly felt like throwing up, and his stomach could usually handle a lot, so that told you something.

Sasuke snapped out of his thoughts by a laugh. Naruto clapped a shoulder on his back. "You have got to lighten up. She always does this to new 'cool' guys. Plus, it isn't that bad." Sasuke stared at him. It was pretty vivid and descriptive,_ too_ descriptive and corrupted. He almost shuddered, _almost_. Naruto added, "Well, it doesn't really affect me since I was trained by both Pervy Sage and Kakashi."

Sasuke didn't even want to know who "Pervy Sage" was, and his hands immediately crumpled the piece of paper and threw it. Naruto said something again, but Sasuke heard something else completely. He saw a young blond boy with the same undeniable whisker marks on his cheeks as Naruto, but the kid looked to be around six years in age, instead of sixteen. His mouth was set in a straight line, and his bright blue eyes were narrowed. His white shirt draped over his orange shorts, too big for the little body beneath it, and the boy stared directly at him.

"I am not mad," the blond boy yelled at him, "I'm sane." Around the boy a red haze swirled close to his body, eyes sad. "I've always wondered: do people fear me? I wonder if they take out their own fears out on my 'so-called madness.'" He laughed once bitterly before continuing, "They pretend to not feel anything, even fear, but I know- I see- their wild eyes and... strange faces..."

The boy was presently frowning while biting his lip, anger dissipating slowly as did the red haze. "They have fears, most likely me. I will shine though," the boy's face split into a grin as he brought up a tiny fist, "they will see. They will not fear me! You better believe it!" His startling grin destroyed any negative feelings that the blond boy had left inside him. As the boy tilted his head, a tiny red streak showed from his right ear to his collarbone.

Sasuke glared at the boy, only to watch it morph into a pair of black legs. His glare grew worse; he was unwilling to look up.

Then, Naruto abruptly stood, trying to drop the previous subject of his teachers all of a sudden. "... So... Anyway, let's get those weapons." He climbed up a nearby tree and leaped to another. "Let's go, slow poke," teased Naruto, as he jumped to another tree branch. He didn't seem to notice Sasuke's lack of response.

Sasuke just sat there. Who was that kid? Was it the same idiotic blond that he was currently near? He shook his head, growling low in his throat and standing. His dark eyes spotted Naruto, and he easily caught up with him by using the trees. Sasuke noticed Naruto's scrutinizing gaze, as his blue eyes traveled fast across the ground until finally resting on the weapons. Naruto cautiously crept over to the edge of the branch he was on, so it didn't break.

Sasuke just watched with a sigh. Gosh, he's slow. He was growing impatient with the blond's antics, almost to the point of throwing him off the branch. Naruto positioned himself with his hands on the branch between his knees as he crouched down and flipped himself into the open air. Spinning in a full circle, he landed on his feet, slipped sideways by moving his feet off to the side, and dodged something that came out of nowhere. He dodged another thing and then another, each time turning his body.

After a few seconds, he jumped to a small stone and onto a second one. Once again, he used his arms to throw himself into the air, expertly landing back on his hands next to the pile of weapons. He made his feet touch the ground slowly before turning his attention to the weapons. He grinned as he grabbed a neat looking sword for the bastard and the pouch of what looked to be shurikens and kunais for himself. Meanwhile, Sasuke was just about to position himself correctly and land on the exact place Naruto had first landed.

Sasuke's eyes focused on that spot as he went to go forward, but nearly jumped out of his skin as he heard a voice behind him. He whirled around, noticing it was Naruto and smacked the side of his head. "Don't do that," stated Sasuke.

Naruto rubbed his head with a slight pout. "Don't hit me then." He gave over the sword, standing up. "C'mon we better find some place to sleep." He led the way back to where they had just recently been. Sasuke sat down by the trunk of a tree, hearing the blond's voice, "Oh I almost forgot, Alice gave me this for you." An article of clothing hit Sasuke in the face.

Sasuke scowled darkly. Holding the black piece of clothing in his hands, he observed it, like it would bite him or something.

"It's just a shirt, put it on." Naruto grumbled. "You're gunna need it." At night, Wonderland could get quite cold. He released a yawn. "Night Bastard." He settled onto his back with his hands behind his head.

"Dobe," Sasuke instantly responded, sliding the black long sleeved shirt underneath his gray shirt, and he took off the purple piece of fabric around his waist, leaving his purple belt, scabbard, and sword around his waist. Out of his pocket, he pulled out two strips of gray and slipped them over his forearms to the cease where his elbows were (one on the left arm, the other on the right). As he leaned back onto the purple fabric, which was placed behind his head, his eyes drifted to the blond. He seemed to be asleep. _He's only quiet when he's sleep-_ And just when Sasuke thought he'd get some peace and quiet, Naruto started to snore faintly.

_He never shuts up! _Sasuke turned unto his side.

. . . .

He awoke to grunting and something slamming with the ground.

"Damn it!" yelled the familiar dumb blond's voice. "START!"

**. . .**

**(Tell me what you think. Next chapter: a fight ensures.)**


	4. Your Betrayal!

**(I own nothing, but the plot.)**

**Chapter 4: Your Betrayal!**

**. . .**

A light breeze signaled the soft pink buds to whip around in a small whirlwind. At first sight, it looked as if it revolved around slowly from only the wind, and at second glance, a person was revealed within the soft pink petals. The petals fell softly to the ground around the person that emerged.

A right hand and right knee rested on the ground to steady the person. Bringing herself up to her feet, her eyes opened. Her eyelids gave way to the brightness underneath them, the green emerald underneath brightened as her gaze swept around.

Five words rolled off her tongue: "I am finally back home."

She knew her objective; she first needed to find Alice. That was what was needed to be done first.

. . . .

His dark eyes closed again._ Maybe, just maybe._ He opened his eyes slowly and continued to walk. He walked, and walked along the mirror-like objects for walls (and everything but the floor). It was so bright. Then, he turned back, seeing darkness. His dark eyes widened just as red eyes appeared among the dark. _Itachi!? _He thought and desperately tried to look away, but he seemed to be glued to it. The eyes came forth, closer, and the person was revealed.

It wasn't Itachi; it was him! He stepped backward when the other him took a step toward him with a cruel smirk twisting his features. Underneath his feet, something crunched from the pressure of him putting his weight on it. He couldn't look down, dreading what would happen if he averted his eyes from, well, himself. The other him grabbed him by the shirt and lifted him into the air.

He squirmed slightly. "Let go," he stated, sounding braver than he actually was. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw dark gray walls and floors, along with various debris scattered all around. Fortunately, there didn't seem to be any type of blood.

The other him shook him. "Wake up! Wake up you bastard!" The shaking grew more intense. _Wake up? What did he- I- mean by that?_ His brows furrowed in confusion. _When did I call myself "bastard," anyways?_ Then, he realized the other him dissolved from view and was replaced by another person.

The other person shook him again. "We have company. Now get your butt moving!"

The last thing he remembered was being woken up from shouts and something colliding with the ground. It all flooded back to him. He had sat up to see what all the commotion was from, only to see an idiot, who was attempting to start a fire. He had just watched as the other literally caught himself on fire, actually it was his sleeve, but still. Even though the scene was pretty hilarious, he had to end it. He had let out a sigh and dug into his pockets, hands clasping around something cold and small.

He had glimpsed at the small rectangular object. It was a jet black, lustrous color. When the blond seemed to be totally immersed in creating the sticks into a triangle and working on trying to light it, he swung out his hand, popped open the case, and lit a twig. He had accomplished that quick and without the other noticing; the blond's reaction made it suggest that he did not notice, at least.

He glared at the other when he snapped out of his reminiscence. "...Did you call me 'bastard'..?"

Now was his turn to get glared at. Blue eyes were fiercely locked with his dark ones. "Does it really matter right now?" He sounded distraught and impatient. He grabbed hold of the bastard's, or Sasuke's, wrist and sprinted forward. His head whipped around when there was a crossroad in the path. Then, he ran straight instead of taking the obvious right or left. He was basically dragging Sasuke now, who immediately stopped moving, which ultimately caused Naruto to stop abruptly.

The quick stop caused Naruto's arm to be yanked backward, as well as the rest of his body from his momentum. He scowled when he landed on his backside and outstretched elbows. "You could have warned me, you know."

Sasuke shrugged as he didn't even spare the blonde a glance when he walked past. Like he truly cared. He found the path again and walked the familiar dirt path, feet colliding with each step he did. Naruto and Sasuke walked in silence for quite some time. Side by side, they sauntered as they approached their destination. A sigh released itself from Sasuke's mouth as he put his hands in his pants pockets.

"Uhm, Sasuke?"

Sasuke almost screamed at him in frustration. However, he decided against it. The kid probably hadn't talked to too many people, but it doesn't mean he should talk to Sasuke. Sasuke let out a short grunt.

Naruto decided that as a key for him to continue. "I was just wondering, what if you try not to kill your brother. Maybe he's different, or maybe he was afraid that you'd actually kill him." Sasuke glared at him, eyes sparking up to their strange red color. Naruto huffed. "All I'm trying to say is that it'll be nice to give your brother a second chance, that's all."

Sasuke swept in front of him and caught him in between a conveniently placed tree and his sword's blade. His eyes burned into Naruto's. "You don't know shit."

Naruto brought up his hand to the blade, wrapping his fingers around it and pushing it away from his jugular. He returned Sasuke's glare when blood trickled from his closed hand. A low growl escaped his throat. "Just forget it then." He brushed past him just as Sasuke lashed out the sword toward the other male. It hit right where Naruto's head would have been, but instead of a head, there was a kunai.

Naruto's eyes narrowed at the area where the connection between the kunai and sword was made, and eventually, his eyes came up to meet the red ones. He held back a response that would have made Sasuke completely flip, and he tilted his head. He was going to ask if he struck a nerve, but that would most likely send Sasuke even further over the edge.

"Don't be in a rush to attack your opponent," he stated as if it was recited from a book, like he had said it so many times before or it was told to him so many times. Naruto shoved Sasuke away and dodged to the left when Sasuke attacked again. "What the heck is your problem?!" He blinked as the blade sliced down inches away from his face, and he leaped backward with his hands going into his pockets.

Sasuke attacked again, which resulted in Naruto hissing in pain and putting a protective hand over his side. A smirk found its rightful place on Sasuke's lips.

Naruto clenched his fists at his sides. "Fine, let's play it your way." He rushed forward, fist ready. His fist connected with Sasuke's jaw, while his leg collided with Sasuke's stomach.

Sasuke grabbed his foot and threw him up into the air.

Naruto maneuvered his body to make sure he landed on that smug smirk, which caused Sasuke to jump back to avoid the hit, and he whirled around and charged at Sasuke, who had landed on his knees. He went to attack, but stopped suddenly. Air swooshed around his body in the direction he was going, while he put down his fist. He yelled out in surprise when Sasuke whipped his head back and screamed. Naruto brought his back up straight until he saw Sasuke attempting to rip out his black hair in his hands, then he moved closer slightly.

Sasuke sat back on his heels, still screaming, until his feet pushed him to his feet.

His mouth was still open, but his screaming had ceased. He took one wobbly step forward, staring at the sky and hands gripping his head loosely, and suddenly fell forward. His body was limp, breathing came out in shallow uneven breaths and swirling the dirt around his face. Naruto wasn't that type of guy to hit someone when they're already down, so he put his hands underneath Sasuke's arms and picked him up.

That earned him a muffled groan from the other.

. . . .

Sasuke woke up in a sweat. His mouth dry. _What happened?_ He got into a sitting position with quite a bit of effort. He clenched his teeth tightly as his right hand went to his temples, thumb on one side, while his index finger on the other. His head was literally killing him. His senses picked up a strange scent; he inhaled and turned toward it. His gaze stopped on something Naruto was holding.

Naruto, in mid-bite, paused. "Hey, ass, have a nice nap?" Sasuke's sword was stuck in the ground next to Naruto, who gently tossed it in Sasuke's direction. He raised a blond brow when Sasuke caught it and glared at him. Naruto grinned widely with his teeth showing. "I didn't need you to attack me when you woke up."

Sasuke's face darkened; he didn't remember what really happened. He thought back to what he could remember. He remembered... nothing, actually. That was extremely unusual. That never occurred before. He remembered waking up twice, something with a lighter, and red. He wondered if it was blood or his eyes.

"Want some?" Naruto's voice cut through his rambling thoughts. He gave a gesture to the cup in his hands, outstretching it toward the other. Sasuke let out an annoyed sound, clearly telling him no. Naruto shrugged, placing it into his lap. "I'm not hungry, so you can have it. It shouldn't go to waste, anyways." He flashed a strained smile, as he set the cup down and stood. He sauntered off.

Sasuke directed his attention to the abandoned cup. He couldn't pry his eyes away when his stomach growled loudly. He exhaled slowly, _well the idiot's right, it shouldn't be left uneaten_. He made his way over and picked it up in his hands, tilting the cup around to examine what was in it. It looked to be some sort of noodle mixture. He used the chopsticks and took out one noodle, making a face.

He was having second thoughts. He stared at the noodle until he brought it to his mouth. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't the greatest food ever. Somehow, he forced himself to eat the entire thing, which was over halfway full, (around 3/4 of the cup or more). He dropped the cup, sensing someone nearby. As if in slow motion, he turned his head to the presence he was sensing.

His eyes widened slightly, rubbing his eyes. It went away. It was his mind playing tricks on him again, at least he hoped. He did not see them. He shook his head roughly, trying to forget what he saw. The image flashed back into his mind. His parents, their dead eyes staring, were standing straight up. His mother had a bloody hole in her face, while his father's throat was slit wide open.

Sasuke stepped back slowly, staring at his hands. He barely heard footsteps approaching him. He ignored it since it was most likely was Naruto, until, this is, he heard a different voice.

"Sasuke," _it couldn't be-_ it was_ Itachi!_

Sasuke's trademark glare rose to his face as he looked toward his so-called brother. "Itachi." He stated, hands reaching his sides instead of the sword on his belt. He tried to go with Naruto's prediction. Maybe Itachi left for a reason, even though it was such a long shot, but Sasuke didn't move as Itachi stood in front of him. Two pairs of dark eyes met each others and held the gaze.

Itachi put a hand to the younger Uchiha's shoulder, face just as blank as his brother's. Itachi's other hand rose toward the untouched shoulder. No one moved, nothing shifted. Then, something appeared in Itachi's grasp and dove at his back. For a split second, the naive/younger part of Sasuke believed that it would return to normal. Sasuke couldn't believe he fell for it! In the close range, he couldn't dodge either. He was stuck; it was inevitable. The blade went to slice through his flesh.

However, a burst of wind sent him back, and Itachi slumped forward with a fist in his stomach.

. . . .

Naruto had left Sasuke to eat his food. His stomach growled loudly as he frowned. He was starving, but no doubt, so would have been Sasuke, even if he were too proud to accept the ramen. He rested his back against a tree, tilting his head to listen to what Sasuke was doing. He knew the Uchiha started to eat the noodles and grinned. He absolutely knew it. His eyes drifted close when he yawned.

"Sasuke," a semi-familiar voice murmured.

"Itachi." Sasuke's voice responded to the newcomer.

Before he even glanced around the tree, he waited for a few seconds. He didn't hear anything, which was peculiar. When he looked around the tree, he saw what was coming as Itachi's arm rushed down, seeming to be headed straight for the middle of Sasuke's back. If it hit, it would injure the boy badly, or possibly kill him, since Itachi seemed to be that good of a fighter.

He didn't even spare a thought about the consequences as he slid in between the brothers, shoving one down and punching the other in the abdomen in the process. A head collided with his from the impact, which stung, but Naruto ignored it as he shoved Itachi away from him. Slipping his stance out wider than usual, he glared. "He's your brother!" He darted forward, fist connecting with Itachi's cheek.

Itachi, not expecting the hit, stumbled back and his eyebrows came together.

Naruto didn't understand. He once had a family, even if it was for a short time. He'd never turn his back on them, no matter what. However, here was _brothers_ trying to murder each other. His brain couldn't piece it together. His hands created a fast hand sign as Itachi went to attack, and five other hims appeared. "Ready for this," all five of him beamed, "you better be."

All of his voices were chorused together, and all of his clones appeared to attack the oldest male. Itachi easily dodged each of the clones punches. All Narutos glared and went to hit him again. One ran forward, got Itachi in the jaw, another slid below that one to collide with his knees to make him fall.

Itachi didn't fall, but just stood there, emotionless. He sent a kunai right between the Naruto that attempted to trip him, making its eyes widen as it "poofed" away. Red eyes stared at the other Narutos, determining the real one, which he realized was the one his little brother was beating up on.

. . . .

The real Naruto stood with his arms crossed gently over his chest as he watched his clones go to work. He really should be in there, but he decided to just stand there and observe. It has been a while since he truly fought anyone. He let out a sigh when an image of one of his old teachers popped into his mind. It's been four years since his one teacher seemingly disappeared.

In Naruto's opinion, it was bull crap. His teacher was simply not one to vanish. Something hit with his head hard. Reeling, he gripped his head. "Ow," he almost laughed at the end. One of his first lessons was to focus on your opponent or anyone else that may become a threat, or was it to expect the unexpected? Or was that a given with his mentors? Oh well, it didn't really matter at the moment.

Back to the present, Naruto faced his offender. It was Sasuke.

"Dobe," stated the other teen. "Stay out of my way."

"I've got this," Naruto snapped at him.

A black brow raised up at him. He slipped out his sword as he questioned. "What... was that?"

Naruto pointed a thumb toward his chest. "Naruto Uzamaki's got this, so Sasuke can sit down." He talked in the third person in a way that would suggest he was commanding a child. Suddenly, he gasped and jumped out of the sword's reach. He whipped out a shuriken and threw it expertly at Sasuke. It flew across the space between them and sliced the side of Sasuke's neck. Naruto didn't want to severely injure him, clearly.

Sasuke's hand clenched tighter around the hilt, and he went at Naruto, who dodged- barely- and twisted to kick Sasuke away, which was deflected by the blade hitting the bottom of his shoe. Flipping off the blade, Naruto watched as Sasuke appeared right where he would land, and Sasuke stuck Naruto. It mostly hit his kunai he just retrieved from his pocket, and it hit some of his forearm.

Sasuke and Naruto's faces were close as they both glared at each other. Then, they shoved off each other in the same instant, and came back to meet again after they tried to rush forward for a good blow. Naruto remembered his lessons, which were not going to help him in his situation. He remembered when he was ten and Pervy Sage made him breathe as he left Naruto to spy on someone. To this day, he doesn't exactly know who it was, but it was probably some unlucky female.

He was about to crack up, but stopped. He felt something cold on his neck. _Shoot._ The coldness was accompanied by pain as a blade cut threw his flesh. He went to his knees and kicked up. It caused Sasuke to step back to avoid the hit, and it gave Naruto enough time to reach his feet.

"You may be something special," started Sasuke.

Naruto found himself with a small grin on his face.

His mood faltered when Sasuke sighed and said. "Unfortunately, you never will be as great as me."

Naruto didn't move, face disbelieving. Guess you can't expect a compliment without something rude following after it. His body moved on its own accord, sending a swift punch at Sasuke's chest. It hit dead on, making him go airborne. In the air, feet hit a tree trunk then the ground. Sasuke's face remained cold and unreadable. His stare was icy, but it didn't phase Naruto.

What Sasuke did next, though, made Naruto's brows knit together and his mouth open wide. Sasuke drew his blade across his palm, enough to make the blood create a pool in his hand as quick as the incision occurred.

"Wh-what are you doing-" Naruto started, utterly confused as Sasuke smirked.

Sasuke tilted his hand toward the ground, watching the blood splash to the ground and start to seep into it. "You ready for this," he mocked Naruto's earlier statement. "Well..."

Naruto expected something to rise up from the blood puddle, but nothing happened to it. He was about to let his guard down; that is, until Sasuke basically disappeared. His eyes darted this way and that. Where was he? Then, he whipped his head back and let out a scream as a sword slid directly below his ribs. His body shook when his hands went to the hilt to pry it out of his body.

Sasuke's smirk was more cruel and contorted as he twisted the blade, expecting some sort of noise to erupt out of the blond. However, he was disappointed when he watched Naruto's eyes just close and reopen a few seconds later.

Naruto wanted to fight back, but something inside him wouldn't allow it, something deep down and forgotten. Naruto calmly looked into the black orbs. A devious grin slid to his face. "That the best you got?" He yanked the sword out of Sasuke's grip and out of his body. He twirled the weapon and pointed it in the middle of Sasuke's forehead. If he really wanted to, he could have just killed him, since Sasuke didn't even flinch.

Sasuke had just watched Naruto rip out his bloody sword with a grin. He couldn't believe that Naruto had actually gotten it, and he couldn't understand how Naruto was faster than he initially thought. Something poked him in the forehead, only to get his attention, and he glanced at it. Naruto was staring over Sasuke's shoulder, instead of at him. Sasuke slowly drifted away from the blade to look over his shoulder.

Itachi was standing there, one arm hanging slightly out of his cloak. He didn't say anything. His gaze stopped at Naruto, and he disappeared from sight. Sasuke stood up straight as he whirled around onto Naruto, gripping the front of his shirt and glaring. "You ever get in my way of my goal again, and I'll personally kill everyone you care for."

Naruto just sent him a glare back. He could really care less about his "revenge." Instead of yelling at Sasuke, he swept by him, only stopping a few feet behind him with his back to the other. "It's just a dream," murmured Naruto harshly. "It's never going to happen just face it before you get hurt." He then continued to walk on as he left the sword on the ground.

Sasuke blinked, seriously confused on how to respond to that. He never really thought those words would come out of that child's mouth, even when he was the depressive angry one. He picked up the sword and wiped the blood off on the ground. Taking his time, he walked back to the observatory looking building, pondering what Naruto meant by that. He went up the ladder and stopped.

Naruto was standing there and staring at the door without moving to open it. He was dead silent, even when Sasuke spoke.

"It's not just a 'dream,'" Sasuke started, "It'll become a reality. Failure is not going to happen; it's... nothing... Like you..." He added the last part with almost venom oozing from his lips.

Naruto's gaze showed nothing, not his anger, not anything at all. "Congratulations you figured it out." It was a sarcastic remark, however.

Sasuke's eye twitched, but he remained quiet, until the door sprayed shards of wood at them. He leaped out into the open air to escape being shredded to pieces, or exploded along with the door. Naruto wasn't so lucky. He was caught in the aftermath, tumbling off the balcony to land on his back, face peppered with tiny splinter-sized red marks. He rose to his feet, and both Naruto and Sasuke jumped back up into the building.

When they made it inside the door, they immediately noticed the darkness in the place, unlike before, and despite some windows they was minimal light that came in. After they spent a few moments in silence, black and red surrounded them on all sides: the left, the right, behind them, and in front of them. Butterflies fluttered, suddenly, creating Alice before them as well. Naruto brightened. She came to help them out of this mess! Alice's cold "bitch-facing" face went to a male with orange hair and multiple piercings

"They have the weapons, Alice," the orange-haired one stated. "They should experience pain."

Alice shook her head, green eyes directly locating on Sasuke's passive face. "We shall ask them a question." A tiny smile eased itself on her face. "Are you trapped in the past, Sasuke?"

What kind of question was that? Sasuke wanted to know, but he didn't respond to her question.

"Or do you chose to live alone, imprisoned in your shattered memories?"

Sasuke tried to remain calm, knuckles white on the hilt of his sword.

"It's not impossible, we can help-"

"WE," Naruto questioned rather loudly.

Sasuke's eyes shut tightly. He wanted her to stop. Wanted it all to be quiet. He wanted-

"You still don't have enough hatred." Itachi emerged out of the crowd of black, white, and red.

Sasuke's eyes flashed angrily; he went to go forward, but Naruto stepped forward first. "He doesn't want your help!" He yelled out as he ran up to Alice, not to attack her, but for her to acknowledge him.

Her brows narrowed. "Get rid of the trash." Instantly, the group of people went forward, mostly starting with Naruto since he was closest to Alice.

Naruto gasped, jumping out of reach. He dodged a scythe blade when a person with silver hair went for his head, ducked under it and gave the wielder a fist in his stomach. Sasuke ran at Itachi, only for crows to appear and fly at him. His now red eyes watched them to reform Itachi, who struck Sasuke in the neck. Sasuke's breath caught in his throat, causing him to roll out of reach and hesitate to attack.

His breathing returned just as Itachi was upon him. Mouth open in surprise, eyebrows crunched down, he dove back. As he went to counterattack, something blond flashed in his way, Naruto. Sasuke almost hissed; he was pissed. Again, he got in the way. Naruto's palm was outstretched as a clone created the blue spherical object right over the palm. He darted forward and the ball barely connected with Itachi, but it managed to stun the Uchiha for a little while.

Itachi flew back, hidden by the other black cloaks that advanced on the younger boy. They all went for Naruto, not anyone going for Sasuke, except for Alice who was behind him, glancing at his face from, basically, behind him on his right side. Sasuke swung at her; she dodged and flashed to the other side. "Sasuke." She stated when he whipped around to confront her face-to-face.

"I don't need your help." He growled.

Alice's air exited her lungs slowly. "Agreeable. I cannot force such things on you... I am terribly sorry, but this is what has to be done."

Sasuke received a terrifying glare from the young girl, and he dreaded what would occur. Something forced its way in his shoulder then down his back and finally connecting with the back of his knees. He fell to his hands, disbelieving the speed of Alice. He could not lose to this girl. He hissed, eyes narrowed, wild and red. He was done with this. He rushed at her, expertly cutting her mid-section, well almost.

Right before the sword landed the blow, she burst into butterflies, fluttered behind him, and her blade (vorpal blade) went toward his check. He deflected it with his blade, pushing out some distance between them. He brought his sword across to aim at her chest, which she fluttered away to the left of him. He swung again, purposely missing as she fluttered away again. He took a step forward as he thrust the blade the same way, slicing Alice's hip.

A petal fell to the ground. For some reason, something invaded Sasuke's vision. He was walking, seeing through what he suspected was his eyes. He recognized the blond boy next to him. He was smiling faintly. "Did you know Alice really likes roses. She'll be your best friend if you find them for her. When she has them though, they might get harmed and fall to the ground. She doesn't like when that happens." He frowned.

"Why does she like them so much?" Sasuke felt himself ask the skinny blond kid before him.

"I dunno, maybe because they're pretty~?!" He giggled. "Oh yeah, she likes teeth also. Still don't know why." He did his trademark movement, one arm rubbing the back of his neck.

Sasuke shook his head and felt a smile creep up on his face. "Everyone has different likes and dislikes."

The blond nodded. "Right."

Sasuke's vision- of the present- returned just as pain erupted down his arm. Looking, he saw a stab wound by his elbow. He couldn't move it well, so he switched from his sword to his less dominant hand. Alice was stone faced as she jumped over his head and spun to land her blade on the crown of his head. Sasuke tried to move out of the way, only to realize it was futile.

Of course, Naruto ended up showing up and saving him, _again_. Naruto gave Alice a punch and jumped back, his body between the two. His eyes were yellow with an orange color on his eyelids, Sasuke noticed. The wind suddenly picked up as Naruto knelt to waist level, arms wide apart on both sides of his body. "I'm done running. That's a promise, and I don't go back on my word."

Out of nowhere, Naruto's hands snapped palm up, fingers seemingly rotating an unseen object in his right hand. Everybody saw the wind blow into the middle of his palm, increasing in speed. His left hand directed itself over the other then back to its original position. His blond hair whipped around his face. Even though no one could see the spiraling air in each hand, they knew it was there.

He cocked back his right hand, and he threw the spherical object of air. It soared through the air at its target, still it was unseen.

Alice side stepped and went forward, so Naruto threw the other one and ran just as he threw it. Alice got hit by the last one, almost falling to the ground, and she slowly rose to her full height. Naruto brought out his right hand to his three marks on one side of his cheek and grinned. He went to attack, but someone grabbed him from behind and shoved him to the ground.

Sasuke went for Alice then, fist inches from her.

Alice had tilted her head to avoid the hit. "You have much determination." She said. "Yet, not enough power." She gave him a pitiful look.

Sasuke didn't want any of her pity. His sword rushed toward the girl, only for her to flutter away as butterflies to his back.

"We can help you achieve power."

Sasuke glared. "I don't need your help." He swung at her again, only for her to slide backward out of reach. It'll be easier if she would stop moving so much. He inwardly growled.

Alice sighed, staring at the blade in her own hand. Directing her attention on Sasuke, her wrist turned ever so slightly for a much comfortable position. "As you want," She lunged forward, ducking under Sasuke's sword, but his knee connected with her head. Petals fell around her, and her eyes narrowed a bit. She raised her hand up and flicked her wrist real quick.

Then, she dove at him, blade aimed at his chest.

Sasuke was about to move when someone behind him tripped him. He went toward the ground, blade following him down. Out of nowhere, a flash of black, orange, and yellow placed itself between him and Alice. The blade had continued on forward toward its destination. It struck Naruto's abdomen. Naruto glared at the girl for a split second as red escaped from his clasped fingers on the handle of the blade.

Retrieving her blade quickly, Alice twirled in a full circle and brought out her leg to kick where the wound was.

Naruto flew backward into the wall. He crumbled to the ground just as he smashed into the wall. He first landed on his right shoulder then the impact made him bounce off the ground to land on his back. He didn't move. Sasuke's eyes widened when he realized the stillness of the blond's body. In the blink of an eye, all of the people left. Alice only paused slightly to look back at Sasuke, then she jumped through the window.

That left only Naruto and Sasuke.

Sasuke went over to Naruto and knelt beside him. _He's breathing, so that's good_, he thought slowly. Getting a closer look at him, Sasuke put his head over Naruto's, inches away, staring. His stare was blank and focused. His bangs fell downward, basically draping over Naruto's forehead. Abruptly, Naruto's blue eyes snapped open, and he jumped up into a sitting position, in turn colliding with Sasuke's forehead.

Sasuke gripped his head and hissed between his teeth. "What the hell?!"

"Why are you even that close to my face anyways?!" Naruto rubbed his head insistently to relieve the pain in his forehead. At the corners of his eyes water started to form in his eyes. He hunched over, hands over his stomach, one eye closed. "Th-that's just great," he said.

Sasuke, who was kind of irritated, made a noise. The noise was something of disbelief and exasperation. "Humph, wimp."

Naruto glared, and then it was replaced with a grin. His hand went to Sasuke's head, and Sasuke eyed him, suspiciously, but made no move to stop him, yet. He felt something yank from his head, once, twice. Naruto was pulling out his hair, literally. Sasuke growled, but Naruto shrugged him off.

"I needed something," was Naruto's simple reply. He put the two pieces of raven hair together and threaded them to become stronger. He lifted up his shirt to reveal the wound, and the mark that Sasuke recognized from the locker room. The wound was in the middle of whatever was on Naruto's stomach. Naruto grabbed something sharp from his pocket, extremely bigger than what he should use.

However, he didn't have anything else. He poked it through his skin after tying on the homemade thread. He went through the procedure like it was normal. He finally had himself stitched up and turned to glance at Sasuke. Sasuke's face was priceless. His mouth was hanging open slightly, eyebrows knitted together, and his eyes wide circles. Naruto laughed. It. Was. "Priceless," he laughed again.

Actually, he probably wouldn't have needed stitches, or he could have used his shirt or something, but he really wanted to see Sasuke's reaction. Naruto flashed a slight smirk at Sasuke's glare.

"Idiot blond," huffed Sasuke.

A sigh escaped from Naruto as he stood up cautiously, not wanting to injure himself more. For some reason, the building shook violently and smoke spilled up from the floors. The building was on fire. Sasuke was frozen as he watched the flames lick the ceiling, getting bigger. Naruto shoved him out the window as the ceiling caved in. Sasuke hit the side of the hill next to the building and heard a yell.

Turning, he saw Naruto just sitting back on his heels. His eyes went up to the darkening sky for a bit. Sasuke got his feet underneath him and towered over Naruto. "Get up," he commanded the other boy.

Naruto's blue eyes drifted to Sasuke. "Why?" However, he reached his feet.

Sasuke barely noticed Naruto's left hand skimming across his (Naruto's) right shoulder, since it was so brief, nor did he care. For the heck of it, he cuffed the back of Naruto's head, who yelled out at him.

"You bastard!" Naruto tackled him to the ground.

Sasuke threw him off, going to punch him in the face, but hesitated. Instead, he rose up with a small sigh. Naruto blinked at him as he walked away. "Weren't you- hey wait up!" He rushed after Sasuke, pushing past tree branches until he almost careened into Sasuke, who actually stopped to wait for him, even though if you asked him, he would deny it until the day died.

Naruto spun to avoid hitting him and beamed at the other. He realized that Sasuke's dark eyes were directed to something else entirely. When he looked to where the raven haired boy was staring, he saw Alice, and whoever were in the black, white, and red cloaks. Alice's piercing eyes were on Sasuke, ignoring Naruto completely. She turned and jumped off the cliff.

Instead of plummeting to the ground, she glided across the vast gap and made it to the other side with ease. Naruto took after her. He pushed his feet into the dirt to lift himself into the air, but a scythe came at his neck. His eyes widened slightly, and he gasped faintly. Avoiding the hit, he fell to the ground and rolled out of the way. The one with the scythe and silver hair smirked.

"This is going to be easy," laughed the older silver-haired male as he hoisted his scythe to lay across his shoulder. He lunged forward, resulting in Naruto jumping above him and flipping to land a heel on the top of the other's head. It hit hard enough to make the silver-haired one stumble slightly. Out of the corner of Naruto's eye, he saw a figure rush at him. He dipped sideways, swinging out his left foot.

The person in front of him danced, literally, around him, giggling. Behind the mask, the giggling ceased when the person waved. "See ya~!" He struck forward, fist connecting with Naruto's stomach, right where his newest wound was. Tears formed in Naruto's eyes, and he staggered a bit. The person with the mask went at him. However, something shot from behind him, flashing toward the masked man's mid-section.

It was Sasuke. The masked person took the hit, stunning him briefly. Naruto leaped over Sasuke, spun in the air, and kicked back the person. Sasuke then darted from the left of Naruto, and his sword created a gash from the person's shoulder to his hip. Over Naruto's palm, a ball of blue was created. It circled itself as he pushed it into the person's stomach. The person shot backward instantly.

Naruto jumped to Sasuke's side. "We're a pretty good team."

Sasuke just stared at him. "Hn," he mumbled. "Duck."

Naruto ducked right before Sasuke's sword ran above his head. He looked over his shoulder as the silver-haired male gripped his right elbow. Naruto sensed someone approaching and dove to the side; whoever it was, was after Naruto, since it followed him. Naruto back-stepped multiple times as a blade flew through the air, quick, and dangerous. Suddenly, he felt, probably a root, snag his foot, and he immediately fell.

A heeled shoe hit his face, whipping him into air. He bounced two times off the dirt and stone littered ground, actually spinning his whole body in a full circle, throwing a few shurikens in Alice's general direction. He couldn't see if they struck their target because he was bounced off the cliff.

. . . .

Sasuke watched Naruto start to get his butt whooped in amusement, one arm resting against his scabbard. Two on one now. He looked down at his sword to look at its various designs. They were complex, he realized. When he slowly directed his attention to the pathetic excuse for a fight, he watched Naruto get hit by a giggling being. Sasuke noticed that for some odd reason Naruto seemed to be favoring his right side, as well.

He, on instinct, dove at the masked person. His sword sank in through the flesh. Sasuke went to attack again, but stopped and took a step back, creating an opportunity for Naruto to kick the person, who skidded on his feet for a foot or so. Sasuke blinked; the Naruto he saw was much younger... almost like the ones from earlier... Sasuke watched himself run around the regular Naruto's left side, drawing up his sword.

He sliced across the person's chest. Blue rushed from next to him as Naruto, no that little blond kid, went by him and got the masked male. The little blond kid glanced back at him. "We're a pretty," the kid grew to be Naruto again, "good team."

Sasuke was speechless. He didn't know how to react to any of that. He just gave a blunt. "Hn." Behind Naruto, the one with the scythe went for an easy hit while Naruto's back was turned. "Duck," he ordered the blond, who instantly did as he was told, surprisingly. Sasuke swung his sword, watching red seep from the cut. Black hair whipped him in the face as she pounced on Naruto.

Alice made sophisticated and precise movements; she seemed really intent on murdering Naruto. Sasuke saw Naruto somehow trip on pretty much nothing, and go flying. He bounced twice. On the third bounce, which created a loud smacking sound, three stars exploded from the spinning mass that became suddenly hidden from the side of the cliff. One went directly at Alice's forehead, the other one headed for her left kneecap, and the last one spiraled around Sasuke's ear.

It missed him, going toward its actual target. Alice stretched her neck, causing the one aimed at her head to fly by her at a great speed. She stepped sideways to move out of the way of the one nearly hitting her knee. She, fortunately- or unfortunately, depending on your outlook-, had not enough time to react to the one that found itself grazing her neck.

She jumped back, clearly surprised she was actually hit. Her hand grasped her neck as Sasuke's lip quirked up in a smirk. "Not as good as you thought, huh?" Now why did he say that? Usually, he said nothing during most serious fights. Was this not serious enough? He didn't know.

Alice growled darkly at him, totally out of character. "Think," was her only advice as she approached the group of cloaked figures with the same symbol on each one. She turned back to Sasuke just when they all disappeared in a column of air, dust, and leaves.

Sasuke went over to the side of the cliff, expecting to see a bloody pulp, but instead, he saw an almost dark abyss. Of course that was an exaggeration, since it was only a extremely long was to the bottom. He saw a hand and glanced down. Naruto was clinging to the cliff with his left hand trying to keep him from falling, and his right brought protectively over his chest.

"A little help here," asked Naruto with a forced and painful grin.

No response, only a turn of Sasuke's head to stare over his shoulder.

_Maybe he's just making sure no one's watching?_ Naruto vaguely hoped, even though it was slim.

Sasuke turned back to him, feet gliding toward the edge. His one foot rested on the left knuckles. He applied pressure, increasing the pressure in a matter of seconds.

Naruto realized what was happening and tried to heave himself up onto the ledge. A little too late, since Naruto's fingers slipped, and he hurtled toward the ground.

The last thing he saw was Sasuke's blank stare as he started to turn away.

. . . .

The two were walking, one slower than the other. One was sighing, while the other one was completely silent, that is until they saw it. There was a corpse on the ground. Approaching it, one let out a long breath as the eyes went up to the very height of the cliff. "It couldn't have survived a fall of that vast proportion." The one slumped against a nearby rock, watching the other nudge the body with its foot.

The other knelt down, while the sighing one against the tree watched. The one kneeling poked the body on the head, where a deep gash had formed along its forehead. He looked over the corpse.

The corpse was battered, bruised, and bloody. It was recent.

. . . .

**(Tell me what you think, or who you want in the fic.)**


	5. Did You See Green?

**(I own nothing but the plot. Thanks for waiting, following, making the story a favorite, and just for reading.)**

**Chapter 5: Did You See Green?**

**. . .**

He poked at the corpse again, still kneeling, until, that is, the corpse made a noise. He straightened as the other one, leaning against the tree, pushed off it with his own shoulder. He saw the other one kneel this time to get a better look at the not-so-much corpse anymore.

"Hm," the one kneeling said to himself, while he examined the body.

. . .

Naruto felt tremendous pain. _Did I die_, he wondered. No, he had to be alive. His eyelids felt like lead, but he still forced them open. When his eyes adjusted somewhat, even though his vision was fuzzy, he saw one person gazing his way, while another was looking off to the side with his arms crossed. The one looking at him blinked slowly, turned to the other one, and mumbled.

At least Naruto could only hear a low rumble. He groaned softly, eyes closing for a few seconds. As he focused on the one behind the closer kid, he recognized the color... "Green..." He murmured. He struggled to sit up as he reached for the color, only for darkness to overcome him again.

. . .

Her footsteps created a dull sound as she continuously walked around in the woods. She didn't exactly know where she was going because her surroundings were unfamiliar. She remembered being here, long ago, but it was so strange to her now.

Something inexplicable was occurring; she just couldn't put her finger on it. She just couldn't place it. Something was up, especially when all she heard was silence._ Like the silence before the storm_, she thought to herself. She was not going to stop until she found Alice. Alice would know what happened to her Wonderland, to theirs. She would know what to do, at least more than her herself knew.

Her walking increased in speed. She had to reach her, and soon. She increased her speed walk to jogging, then to sprinting in a matter of seconds. She noticed the black long hair of her long ago friend. "Alice!" She yelled as she threw her arms around the other. "I can't believe it's you." She exclaimed. Alice was what she thought as a sister would be, since she didn't really have a family.

Alice had helped her numerous times, and she returned the favor, as well. "Nice to see you again, Sakura." Alice gave a genuine smile to the green-eyed girl, allowing her to hug her.

Sakura smiled brightly. "I'm glad I've found you-"

"I know, you're worried about Wonderland. Of course, it'll be just fine," Alice said. "Better than fine," she added.

Sakura grew confused. "What do you mean?"

Alice led her forth, toward a mushroom, sitting down on it gracefully. "Please sit. We have much to talk about." To Sakura, her voice was odd. She still had her accent, but her speech pattern was different.

. . . .

Sasuke sat with his chin in between his legs, resting on his palms. He had just killed Naruto, or at least attempted it. He let out a loud sigh._ It's for the best. No more unnecessary distractions._ He forced his legs to push him to his feet._ Now, to find and destroy Itachi_. He made his way to where he thought the observatory place was located. He found it, only to notice that it was basically destroyed.

The pillars that had ascended the building had given way, causing the place to collapse. He walked over to the ruins, searching for anything to lead him to what he really came to this place, Wonderland, for. He scanned the room for anything useful, only to find ash and charred wood. He let out an exasperated sigh, kicking a large board out of his way.

He turned to leave, pausing mid-step on something that survived. He knelt down and retrieved it. It was just a ratty old piece of paper. He read it quick to only shove it in his pocket. It didn't seem valuable, but the writing was familiar to the young raven. He just didn't fully recognize it. He left the building immediately. Now he had no other leads to go on.

Even in the actual world, his findings led him to the school and stalled there. A flash of yellow flashed into his mind. Scowling, Sasuke ventured further into the woods. He closed his eyes as something popped into his head, even it was useless. It was a memory, one hidden deep within his mind, and it resurfaced. He remembered this memory, but he wanted, actually, needed to forget.

It was when he was younger as he smiled cheerfully at his brother, who returned a small one back. Itachi gave him a small poke to the forehead. Present Sasuke shook his head in an attempt to erase it, but it didn't. It only, thankfully, faded from "view."

. . . .

Naruto sat up in immense pain, groaning, with bleary eyes. He went to stand only for a pressure on his shoulder to stop him. He looked sideways at the person. The person had black spiky hair and brown eyes with a lazy- "Shikamaru?" Naruto questioned, cautiously, yet curiously.

Shikamaru presented him with a lazy smirk. "Surprised you even remember me." His jacket was dark gray, basically like when he was younger (from what Naruto remembered), but his sleeves were at the the middle of his forearms and the color was darker, and other clear differences. He also still sported his fishnet shirt underneath his closed jacket, but it went down to his elbows, black sandals instead of his blue ones, and a dark gray piece of cloth was tied around his right wrist.

Naruto chuckled weakly. "Everyone does blame me for your disappearance, so it's not exactly easy." His gaze drifted to the redhead completely ignoring both of them, or planning on staying out of the conversation. He wasn't going to let that happen. "Gaara, isn't it?"

Gaara was dressed in a long-sleeved crimson coat that had flaring hemlines and had two slits on each side, located by his outer thighs all the way to the end, a large belt slung over his hips with an unique design of "x's," black pants, gray arm guards on each forearm (over some of the sleeves), black sandals on his feet, and a dark undershirt showing a little by the neck line.

The pale eyes narrowed at the sound, but didn't bother to look at the owner. Naruto pushed himself to his feet.

Shikamaru just sighed as Naruto approached Gaara. This wasn't going to end well, and he knew that he couldn't change Naruto's mind. It has been like that even when the kid was young. He wouldn't back down, even when he stopped in front of Gaara and stared. _What was he doing?_ Shikamaru wondered. Naruto just continued to stare, until the pale eyes glared at him.

Then, he blinked at Gaara, who scowled deeply. Naruto, suddenly, laughed, surprising both the lazy one and the redhead. It barely showed on Gaara's face, however. A nonexistent eyebrow raised up on the otherwise unaffected face. Naruto said. "That doesn't affect me; I've been spending time with Sasuke," he paused, realizing that they didn't really know who Sasuke was.

"He's the newest kid at school."_ Like that told them anything_, Naruto grumbled inwardly. "He's-"

Shikamaru spoke up. "Uchiha?" When Naruto nodded, Shikamaru added. "Why are you involved with him?"

Naruto shrugged. He didn't understand why Shikamaru was so interested in him, or why he cared. "... He's just some bastard that calls me an idiot, a dobe, and anything else he comes up with, like fuzzbag, or an idiot blond.." He didn't seem all that angry though, instead, he smiled some. "A bastard that I have to go save his ass, _again_."

"He treats you badly, yet, you still continue to assist him," Gaara finally spoke up in slight disbelief.

Naruto frowned. "You don't turn your back on anyone, even if they already did it." Silence hung in the air as the blue eyes slid to the ground.

"I hope you know what you're doing," stated the young Nara. He didn't feel necessarily compelled to voice his opinion on the Clan, or how a little child demolished it. They were either extremely weak or stupid, or the kid was very powerful or incredibly intelligent. Or driven by something that meant a lot to the kid. He sighed. He was wasting too much energy even thinking about it. He wasn't going to get involved.

"Do I ever," Naruto laughed, even if it was humorless. His eyes drifted to Gaara once again. He knew there was something he was forgetting. _What was it?_ His head pounded as he attempted to think about what it was. "I suppose you two are going to leave and find a way out?"

Shikamaru gave a slight nod. Gaara and him left the blond alone a little after that. Naruto felt terrible, like he was ran over by a truck. He glanced at the sling for his right arm. Shikamaru must have made it. Naruto took out his arm slowly, wincing faintly as he flexed his arm then rolled his shoulder. Immediately, he stopped the motion, biting his lip to make sure he didn't yell out.

His injury was pretty bad, but at least he could semi-move it. He took off the home-made sling and threw it to the ground. It would draw attention, since he knew other people were here, but he didn't know exactly who. Plus, he needed speed. Something told him, something deep down, insisted on him hurrying. Something was up, especially when Alice was being affected so badly.

He started to run, despite the sharp pains exploding all over his body.

It was imperative that he reached Sasuke before Alice did.

. . . .

Sasuke walked slowly, completely lost. All these memories were hitting him all at once. It was confusing and distorting. A fresh blaze of images assaulted him, causing him to stumble and fall to his knees, shaking violently. He forced himself to keep moving, slipping out his sword, as if that could possibly help him. Suddenly, a kid appeared within his view, only to disappear immediately.

All he knew was that it was him as a young kid, but he was wearing something red. Well, he hoped it was what he was wearing and not something covering him. He shook his head vigorously. _Why won't this stop!?_ He needed to be completely focused, but he couldn't, so he decided to sit on a giant rock. Resting his elbows against his knees, he put his head in his hands.

Images shot at him again, so confusing, whirling around in his head.

. . . .

"What?" Sakura gasped. "It can't be!" She was left alone to ponder the information she had received from Alice. She paced across the floor in deep concentration, contemplating. It was a lot to adjust too, all the weight brought down on her shoulders. She heard of the curse; she and Alice took it literally when they were younger, but she couldn't believe it was actually happening.

She remembered two people would start a chain reaction, and then it would all fall apart. Only one person would save them. Only one... with green eyes. Her hand raised to her eyes. _Was it me, truly?_ Something sparked within her. It was excitement. The problem was that she didn't know exactly how. Alice neglected to mention it. Smiling faintly, she left the almost deserted area.

She made her decision, even though some drastic measures were to be taken, starting with a Naruto Uzumaki.

. . . .

Something snapped, resulting in him abruptly rising to his feet, sword ready. Various snaps of twigs were heard, approaching closer with each snap. He got ready, eyes swirling red. He needed to take out his frustration on something; it was driving him nuts with all these memories attacking his brain, while he could do nothing to prevent them from coming forth.

He swung his sword just as something burst through the trees. With one clean swipe, it exploded to reveal teeth. Momentarily, he stared at the teeth, eventually tearing his eyes away. He felt numb for some odd reason, which was normal pretty much. It was returning to when he didn't care or give a fuck about anyone/thing, but one mission. It was as if he never went to Konoha.

He wanted to be the way he has always been. Not relying on emotion, and only watching out for himself. His eyes closed until he heard his name, eyes snapping open. "You're never going to be anything." _Smack._ Sasuke whipped his head back, falling to his knees, breath coming out roughly. It was a memory. However, he still felt the pain, hand gingerly touching his face.

Soon, the hurt subsided, allowing him to breath evenly. It was going to take forever to get used to that. He, once again, stood, pushing off the dirt on his pants. Even when the dirt was gone, he continued to try to get rid of it. He did it continuously, each time increasing in force. Eventually, the pain made him stop. He gritted his teeth together and drove his sword into the side of a big tree.

It dug deep, and he did it again. And once again. He was downright ticked off. He wished he never arrived, never had to meet that dumb ass Naruto, and didn't need to relive (or learn) about his past. It didn't matter, nothing did, but his revenge. He exhaled loudly, air hissing through his teeth.

"Don't stop now, you might actually win this fight." A voice overheard jarred him.

_Speaking of the idiot._ Sasuke growled at the teasing person. "I told you to get lost."

"I think the correct term was 'die.'" Naruto jumped next to him, causing the dark haired one to scowl.

"Why didn't you listen?"

Naruto shrugged. "Not the time, I guess." He grinned his all too familiar grin, from past and present. "Plus, I don't need to listen to a self-absorbed brat." He gently hit Sasuke on the top of his head, walking slightly past him.

Sasuke eyed his back. He didn't even bother to wonder how exactly Naruto was even alive, let alone moving around like nothing happened. His grip on his sword tightened, eyes swirling red. He was going to kill him, one way or another. He raised the sword, only pausing when he heard the blond state something. "What," his narrowed eyes met with Naruto's.

Naruto repeated himself. "I don't think you should be searching for your brother like you are." A sigh escaped his lips as he glanced away from the brooding Uchiha. "It may become a trap-"

"I don't give a sh-"

"Just listen you bastard!" Naruto snapped at him, whirling on him and causing silence to develop among the two. He pulled out something from the kunai and shuriken pouch, holding it in between his fingers. His gaze was focused on it, instead of anything else. "Clearly, Alice wants you for something, and it just happens she has that many people on her side..? It's definitely more than just a coincidence. There's something not connecting."

Sasuke was too shocked to respond._ Since when was Naruto this observant? And what the heck was he getting at. He was trying to be friends with her before, but now._ He pushed past him. "I can handle myself." A hand grabbed hold of his shoulder.

"Sas..." Naruto started, but stopped when Sasuke turned to him. His eyebrows crunched together all of a sudden. "...Whoever the hell you are, you can't fight all those people alone, and people call me an_ idiot_!" He released Sasuke and clenched his hands together. "You're going to die here if you don't use your head." It was as if he were speaking to himself.

Maybe he was, Sasuke didn't know. He turned the opposite way away from the blond. He didn't bother to respond at first, until he stated. "It doesn't matter."

"What doesn't matter? Your life, or my advice?" Naruto questioned the other.

"Both."

Naruto blinked. He didn't understand his reasoning.

"Only one thing needs to be done."

_There he goes with the stupid revenge thing._ Naruto crossed his arms. "What about after it?" Once again, Sasuke decided to not answer, which infuriated Naruto. He went to retort, only to end up on the ground from an impact on his cheek. "Ouch." He mumbled, running a hand across the spot to rest on his marks. He glanced up as Sasuke lifted him by the collar of his shirt.

His eyes were red. "Enough with the questions." He set Naruto down on his feet, who just stared at him. Sasuke walked ahead, only stopping a few feet away. "Are you coming or do I have to drag your pathetic butt?" His dark eyes gazed back, over his shoulder. For at least ten seconds, he waited for the other to move, growing quite impatient with each one.

Eventually, Naruto moved to walk beside him, silent. It was uncharacteristic, even when he was the depressive angry one. Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke watched Naruto stare at his feet, not even bothering to watch out when he nearly collided with a tree. Sasuke grabbed his cloak's sleeve to make sure he wouldn't run into anything. If anyone asked him, he'd say he only did it so he wouldn't have to listen to Naruto's complaints.

In fact, actually, he didn't want the kid to get hurt. It must be all those memories affecting him. Wait, if they were memories, then... he knew the kid? _Why didn't he remember me?_ Sasuke's eyes searched the silent teen. His mouth opened and closed immediately, feeling something unsettling. Something bad was coming. Naruto tensed underneath the cloak.

Sasuke observed the ground, and within that exact moment, something white slithered across the ground. Naruto didn't move, but Sasuke rushed as the thing exploded, bringing along Naruto with him. He coughed on the smoke. "Naruto... idiot, where are you!" He searched through the thick smoke and found light. Going toward it, it revealed itself, not sunlight as Sasuke suspected.

His eyes went right to Naruto, who was collapsed in some girl's - no that pink-haired one, Sakura's!- arms. Her attire was different. She wore a red qipao dress without sleeves that went to her knees with cuts along the sides and pale pink trim, dark gray (almost black-colored) gloves on each hand that stopped at her wrists, the same color for her shorts that ended right below her knees, pale pink fabric along her left upper arm, and black-gray boots that came up to mid-shin.

Naruto was unconscious in her arms. As he unsheathed his sword, Sasuke approached her. "Let him go," he ordered her, words cutting through the silence.

She turned to him, red headband slightly pulling back her hair, so Sasuke could see the tears evident in her eyes. "It has to be done." She raised a dagger and went toward Naruto's throat.

Sasuke could only watch as she did it, eyes following the downward arch of the blade. _No!_

Out of nowhere, the ground shook, lightning shot down, startling Sakura into dropping the knife. Instead of bring the normal color of lightning, it was red. The wind picked up sharply, throwing Sakura away from Naruto, who was standing, barely, but nonetheless standing. It was strange, since he was still unconscious. Sakura darted forward, scooping up the dagger and aimed for his chest.

Instantly, Sasuke tackled her away and retrieved the dagger that flew up into the air. He backed up to get a little closer to Naruto. "I thought he was your friend." He said, dryly.

Sakura's eyes watered, as her green eyes stared at Naruto. "I... I have to kill him. It's the only way-"

"You don't have to do anything." Once again, Sasuke was quoting Naruto, but this time it was a younger version of Naruto. He held his sword tight until Sakura gasped, eyes widening. Sasuke looked back to see Naruto's eyes becoming red. They swirled red, totally covering the blue, and stretching the black wider to resemble a cat's eye. A menacing howl exploded from Naruto.

Sasuke fell forward, shoving his sword into the dirt to prevent himself from blowing away. Sakura wasn't lucky. The wind sent her airborne and rolling across the ground until she was out of sight. Naruto screamed, clutching his head. His eyes rolled back into his head, and he seemed to have passed out, since gravity took over and brought him to his back. Everything stopped.

The darkness wasn't as dark, and the lightning was gone, as was the wind. Cautiously, Sasuke crept over to the blond, nearly jumping back when he realized his eyes were open. At least they were blue again. Naruto stared blankly up, even when Sasuke knelt down in his view. Naruto said nothing, did nothing, but stare. He was thinking about something, it looked like.

Slowly, the eyes swept over to Sasuke. They were cold. Then, it disappeared. Hie eyes closed.

. . . .

Naruto woke up and sat up at the same time. He gazed to the moon, hugging his knees. He glanced down at his wrists, tugging the fabric over it. His breath caught in his throat. He wished it wasn't true. He didn't know how to react to this knowledge. Everything, it was...

"About time you woke up."

Naruto looked over to Sasuke sitting there, observing him. "Yeah," was all he said as he glanced back to the moon. It created an eerie feeling to the place. It _was_ about time he woke up. He stood, feeling the other's eyes on him, and he went closer to the cliff to glance over it. "Planning to throw me off this one too?" He heard a noise that resembled a snort from behind him.

"Don't tempt me." Sasuke's voice retorted. It had a slight tease to it, though.

"Funny, very funny." Naruto's voice was bland.

. . . .

Sakura told Alice of the strange events that had occurred, resulting in an annoyed expression to slip onto Alice's face. They both didn't understand what happened. "He should have been easy," Alice hissed at Sakura. Sakura was speechless; Alice was being affected by the curse, that's for sure, and in a bad way. She never hissed at Sakura before; it unnerved her.

"Al-Alice, we can still get rid of him-"

Alice's cold expression turned onto her. "Sasuke's in the way now."

"What if you get Sasuke away from Naruto, and I'll... finish the deed." Sakura hated what she had to do. She felt incredibly horrible, like it wasn't right, even if it was supposed to help get rid of the curse. Naruto was there for anyone that needed it, even if they didn't want him to be there. He'd at least try. A loud smash sounded from the hall that stopped her thoughts.

Both Alice and her tore down the hall. "Who ruined this bloody room?" Alice asked the people in the room.

A long blond haired male pointed at a blue-skinned male. "It was him, un."

Alice stared for a moment, and then shook her head. She turned to the only reliable person in the room at the time. "Someone's approaching the castle," he stated, long black hair slipping into his face slightly as he rose from his chair. He left and went outside, along with Alice.

Sakura hesitated as the two at the table started arguing. She went over to the two, who were both charred from yet another explosion. Alice had mentioned the blond one liked to create "head-exploding" art. Immediately, they were silenced when she sat at the table. She dragged a finger across the soot covering the counter, examining it on her finger.

"Why are you guys not against Alice?" She asked softly. She wanted to know why they didn't feel horrible or even thought it was wrong to do so. Suddenly, at the mention of Alice, their eyes glazed over, and both said.

"It's the only way."

. . . .

"Naruto!" Someone's voice hit both of their eardrums. Naruto whipped his head around at his name, as Sasuke raised a brow at the running person.

"Sh-Shikamaru?" Naruto was stunned. _What got the boy to actually run?_ Shikamaru's usual calm, or relaxed, expression, was off. Immediately, he knew it was serious, and Shikamaru was alone. "Where's Gaara?" His question was asked forcibly.

Shikamaru shook his head and said only one word, actually a name. "Alice."

. . . .

Sakura felt weird among them, so she nodded a goodbye and went to locate Alice. That was strange. They had said it without hesitation, and at the same time, in the same way. She rounded a corner after she reached outside and stopped dead in her tracks. She shuddered at the person engulfed in blood beneath Alice and the dark-haired male. Alice didn't look at her as she made a wave of her hand.

As if on cue, the male blocked her view, grabbed a hold of her arm, and led her away from the body. "Is he still alive?" No answer. "What happened?!" No response again. She glared and tried to rip herself free. "Let me go, and explain this!" The man dragged her inside, through the kitchen where the blond and blue-skinned shark being sat. They both abruptly stood when Sakura got free.

She made a fist and sent it at the dark-haired man. He just moved his head out of the way. Sakura kicked the blond that attempted to seize her wrists. He collided with he table, and it broke to pieces around him. Sakura back-stepped out of the way of the shark being, eyes darting between the three of them. "Stay back," she warned with a glare to her eyes.

The dark-haired male put up a hand just before the other two attacked. He gave a shake of his head. For some reason, they left the room, leaving only her and the dark-haired male.

"You're going to be surprised if you think I'll go freely," she stated, clenching her hands into fists.

He stepped forward and said. "We can't hurt you." Now that surprised her. She was silent as he continued. "Do you want to know the reason?"

"I already know, Alice and I are friends."

The man just stared at her. "Is that what you think?" He released a small sigh.

"Then, what is it," she wanted to know. It couldn't be true. Her and Alice were friends, from a very young age too. They always traveled together. They... They never spent any time together, now that she realized it. Alice would be there, but not there. She would never really talk or do anything with Sakura. Sakura was there to help find food or something like that. They were never true friends, maybe on her side, but Alice never laughed or smiled with her. Nothing that was true anyways.

She paused. _Then what was I?_

. . . .

Alice's eyes surveyed the body on the ground. It took awhile to get him down. Her gaze looked him over again. He was still breathing. The bottom of her boot allowed her to move the body's neck. Nothing. Where? She knelt down, as she saw a giant hole where the body's stomach was, seeing the black colored undershirt even darker with blood. At the top of the kid's shirt was all battered and tears ran down about two inches from the collar in multiple directions.

She placed a hand at his neck, debating if she should end him now. Suddenly, a person ran out of the castle. Alice saw that it was Sakura. "Stop her." She told no one in particular, yet many black blurs darted after Sakura right after she said that. Alice walked away from the body. She'd finish it off when she got back. She had to deal with a runaway.

When she got back, however, the body was no where in sight.

. . . .

Naruto held the body on his back, hidden in the trees, along with Sasuke and Shikamaru. It was a plus that they found him so quick. All they had to do was escape, and if they should fail... well, let's not mention that right now. They watched as Alice looked around her, eyes landing on their precise hiding place. Naruto gritted his teeth together, attempting to hand over the body, which Sasuke refused to take.

Sasuke, however, jumped down from the tree, gaining the girl's attention. Moonlight hit the blade as Sasuke withdrew his sword. "I've got her." That was their cue to leave at once. The two ran off; Naruto couldn't help, but feel the guilt clench his stomach, but he kept going. Sasuke's eyes swirled red, intensely on Alice. Alice darted forward, trying to go around him, but Sasuke cut her off.

Alice gaze traveled to his face. She was silently thinking on what her next action would be. Sasuke made it for her as he attacked, catching her hair with the blade as she jumped back to evade. It sliced clean through. A blade appeared in her hand instantly as she went for his chest. He slid out of the way just in time, but she got him with her shoulder. It was enough force to send him off balanced.

Alice went for a quick strike at an opening between his arm and side, but it was deflected by something skimming across her hand. Her hand whipped by as she saw her attacker. It was Sakura; she had thrown a butter knife to protect this person she didn't know. Sakura's arms were suddenly caught by multiple people in those black, red, and white cloaks.

"Whatever you do, don't listen to her." She yelled toward Sasuke, trying to free herself. Alice gave a tiny glare, resulting in the grip on Sakura's arms to increase and a hand went over her mouth. Her voice came out muffled as she attempted to continue. Alice drove the blade forward and into Sasuke's. Both collided with each other and bounced off.

Alice spun around to Sasuke's other side, giving him a shift kick to his knee. It caused him to stumble. Sasuke glared as he dove out of reach and sprung to his feet. The blade was whipped from his fingertips from another kick from Alice. He was defenseless as she advanced on him, blade gleaming. He got ready to dodge, but Alice didn't attack.

She just gave him a smile. Sasuke didn't know what to think about that, but he was still tense. She started talking, something about achieving his dream, how he could be back to the way it was (before Konoha), and unimaginable other things. Sasuke hesitated. It sounded great. Really, really, great. He dropped his hands. It sounded... amazing. He could end it all now.

He took a step forward. Suddenly, a voice cut through his brain. "Don't, she's tricking you! She's even has the others-" Sasuke watched as Sakura was silenced with a punch to her temple. Hopefully it wasn't too hard of a hit, that could kill her. Wait- why did he care? He turned back to Alice. All those promises... they seemed, so, amazing...

. . . .

Naruto and Shikamaru leaped from tree to tree. Shikamaru stopped suddenly, causing Naruto to have to wait on the next tree for him to reach it. Naruto looked around. "We're being followed, aren't we?" Shikamaru didn't bother to nod, as figures erupted out of the shadows. Naruto dodged, throwing himself and the body off the tree. Quickly removing the body from his back, he made sure he landed on his own back.

He struck the ground hard, but the body was pretty much protected by his own. He sat up, just as Shikamaru found himself next to them. He retrieved his hands from his pockets when something flew at them. He grabbed it out of the air in a flash and sent it back before it exploded on them. He continued this until Naruto finally reached his feet and put down the bloody body.

Naruto jumped over Shikamaru as something blazed at him, kicking it away. It exploded just a millisecond later. Naruto ducked to the side as a scythe cut right where his head was. It was that silver-haired one again, a smirk painted his face as he threw the scythe at Naruto, who couldn't move unless he wanted it to hit the others. He put out his hands and gripped the blade.

Clenching his teeth together, he managed to stop the blade, only to get kicked in the side and sent flying to the ground. Naruto was up to his feet the next second, pulling out a kunai just as a someone rushed at him. His kunai connected with another's. He shoved away, sending a foot to put even more distance between them. It didn't work because the person thought he'd do that and went around it.

A kunai barely missed his side as Naruto grabbed the arm and took the kunai away. He didn't move as he noticed his opponent. "Shikamaru," stated Naruto. Tossing up the kunai, he didn't care enough to see if Shikamaru caught it. Instead, he lunged at the person, who happened to be Itachi. Itachi seemed to glide around him and directly at the body on the ground.

Shikamaru blocked his path, resulting in Itachi's blank stare._ It must run in the family_, Naruto thought instantly. He was next to Shikamaru in the next second. "You're not going to touch him Ita..." He shook his head vigorously. "Ita-Itachi." He whipped out a few shurikens and held them between his fingers. He rushed forward. As Itachi went to go around him, Naruto threw the shurikens to prevent his approach, giving Shikamaru time to get ready when Itachi went straight for him.

Shikamaru struck the Uchiha back once, but the next time, Itachi was expecting it, so he grabbed Shikamaru's wrist and tossed him aside. Just inches away from the body, Itachi was whipped back by a sudden burst of air. His dark eyes went red at the newcomer.

. . . .

It sounded so appealing, so... _Easy_. In fact, too easy. Sasuke stepped forward quickly, landing a good punch on Alice's abdomen. She was not anticipating that, clearly, because her eyes widened a fraction. Sasuke took that instance to run into the group of people holding Sakura. They scrambled out of the way as he kept running. With one last look back, he watched the pink hair disappear over the wall.

Sasuke ran to where he heard a big commotion and quite a few explosions. He stopped to survey what was going on, only to see Gaara just unconscious and bleeding profusely and the other two fighting a bunch of people. His gaze zoomed in on Itachi and jumped to attack. Red eyes met red eyes again. Sasuke went to attack, but Itachi backed up, causing him to follow.

Sasuke was getting angered with each step. He cocked back his fist and sent it a Itachi's cheek. Just in time, Itachi swerved to the left, and didn't face it. However, it hit Naruto instead. Naruto yelled out in pain. "OW! Would you watch it?!" He gripped his face, groaning.

"Well, move out of the way, idiot!" Sasuke yelled back, breaking his calm exterior more than usual. Once again, Naruto was in his way. Once again- A crack of thunder sounded and lightning struck, illuminating the area. It even caused a long shadow to make everyone look toward. It was Alice with the others. Her appearance made Naruto stop his complaining, scowl, and clench his hands.

Naruto took off, going straight for Alice. His punch whipped at her, yet all she did was shove out a foot and send him sliding. Naruto attempted to attack again, but the result was the same. Naruto growled low and said something that Sasuke couldn't hear. Alice did, and she slipped out her blade and sliced his shoulder. Naruto jumped back as blood started to flow from the wound.

He didn't even look; he didn't seem to be phased. Naruto was going to attack again, but Sasuke appeared next to him and grabbed him by his collar. "You can't fight her alone." He hated to even suggest what he was doing, but his memories told him that if they worked together, they might accomplish something. Naruto just stared at him, confusion on his face. "_We a_re going to fight her."

Naruto still seemed confused. "Wh...who?" Alice made a noise that resembled a laugh. Naruto growled at her. "Don't laugh at me!" His body darted forward on its own accord. It was _her_ fault!

Sasuke held him back, grip tighter. "What the hell did I just tell you?" He let him go, and both ran forward. Alice burst into butterflies around to the back of them, blade hitting both of them. They stumbled forward, finally realizing that they couldn't defeat her, at least not at this time.

Naruto shook his head, erasing the exasperation on his face. "We should really go." It was a major difference from a moment ago. He and Sasuke backed up to the others.

"How are we going to do that-" Sasuke began. Suddenly, Shikamaru wrapped his hand around an object in his pocket, removed it, and hit it on the ground. Smoke filled the area.

When the smoke cleared, the four were gone. There was no trace of them. Despite appearing calm, Alice was irritated._ It was supposed to work. Why didn't it? ... Both of them..._

. . .

Shikamaru and Naruto went to work at covering up the worst wounds on Gaara. They were nearly finished when Sasuke snapped to his feet to pace. Naruto rolled his eyes at the other, which allowed Sasuke an opportunity to take out his anger. "Hey idiot!" He stomped over to Naruto, who refused to look up at him. Sasuke stated as he kicked the other's leg. "Why'd you attack her, huh? You knew for damn sure that you suck at fighting-"

"Uchiha," started Shikamaru with a slight glare.

Sasuke ignored him. "Those stupid memories keep fucking me up, and, yet, I still fight so much better than you. I can barely concentrate on reality because they're-"

Naruto snapped then and there, standing to his feet, and pointing a finger at the Sasuke's chest. "At least you get those memories! I wish I had that opportunity to get back my memories! So don't be a crying bitch about it. At least you know something!" It was silent after his rant until he spoke another time.

"I'm forgetting everything," his voice quieted down some as the words did not just hit the others, but him as well.


	6. Who Now!

**(I own nothing but the plot. Thanks for reading, following, and setting the story as a favorite! It's going to take longer to post another chapter, since I'm leaving for a bit, but tell me what you feel about the story so far, or perhaps what you expect/want in the story.)**

**Chapter 6: Who Now?!**

**. . . .**

There were no responses to the blond's confession. Sasuke and Shikamaru didn't move. They only silently stared. While Sasuke stared at Naruto, Shikamaru's gaze was on the ground in front of his knees. Naruto bit his lip, eyelids screwed shut and tilted his head with his left ear closer to the ground than his right. For a while, there was silence among the three. How could you even reply to that atrocious news?

"And," started Naruto, but hesitated in finishing. He tugged at the cuffs of his cloak. He exhaled roughly. "And I," he tried again, but he stopped once more. The chance to speak had passed because the body between them moved a little.

Before anyone spoke up, however, they all heard a slight groan slip out of the bloody/bandaged body, as he sat up. Gaara had his eyes closed; he was in tremendous pain at the moment to even attempt to open them to examine his surroundings. He wasn't exactly sure where he was or with whom he was with. After a few moments, his eyes opened, and Sasuke's own eyes widened.

"Green eyes, red hair," mumbled the young Uchiha. His black orbs stared into the pale green ones, which stared back at the other with a somewhat challenging gaze. "Naruto, do you remember the curse?" He decided to not turn away, just in case he "disappeared."

Naruto's brows crunched together in confusion. "Huh? What?"

"In your pocket, read the piece of paper," Sasuke sighed in exasperation.

Naruto dug into his pockets, fingers sliding over it. After he read it, he grinned. "Oh, that's what I was forgetting!" He showed Shikamaru the paper, who raised a brow at Sasuke.

"Where did you get the red hair from," Shikamaru asked, skeptical.

"Yeah, all it says is about-"

"Shut up idiot." Sasuke glared at the blond, retrieving the paper he had found in the wreckage of the observatory. Naruto didn't remember; it was obviously true that he was losing his memory, since Sasuke got the idea from younger Naruto. "Here, read." He thrust the paper into Naruto's hands.

Naruto concentrated on the words, which seemed to blend together until he could focus enough. "Uhm, okay, well it says:

'Your choice is done. Your voice is gone. Your lips are pale. Unlike your hair. Your red hair is the color you lack. If you could only escape,'" Naruto paused as he stumbled in the words, which mixed together once again. Then, he continued. "'the hole in your back. You did well. No one will dwell. In fact, you are the creature they will spell.'"

Everyone was once again silent. It was quite complex, yet mostly straightforward. The savior needed to not have pale hair, so Sakura was out, but the red hair could be someone else because something red might have been in it, so it isn't necessarily Gaara. However, no one could count him out, except for himself that is. Gaara wasn't exactly the type to willingly save anyone.

"What's that," Naruto questioned as he showed Shikamaru the piece of paper and pointed to the corner. It was a dark design of some sort with chains coming from the middle and outward along with multiple lines and shapes. It reminded Naruto of an ice cream a bit.

"It's the mark the person will possess." Shikamaru responded matter-of-factly. He glanced over at the redhead and asked if he had the mark. Gaara just shook his head with a glare. It didn't matter anyway; Gaara wasn't going to save any of them even if he did have it. He'd probably be the one to cause their deaths, and the "no one will dwell" factor didn't help or that the so-called savior had to die for everyone else.

Sasuke plopped to the ground, rather unlike himself. Well, that ruined his day even more so.

. . . .

They decided to sleep for a little while until Sasuke was awoken by a sound. He glanced around, noticing only Naruto was missing. He sighed, stood, and went to find the dumb ass. He found Naruto resting against a tree with his hands held together. Sasuke would have left him and went back to sleep, but Naruto was shaking. Instead, he went over to him and kicked him with his foot.

"Go back to sleep," stated the Uchiha. "You're going to need it."

"Can't." Naruto shook his head vigorously. "Not again." His blue eyes were extremely wide before he blankly stared ahead.

"I can help you if you want." Sasuke smirked, thinking how fun it would be to knock him out.

Naruto yelled. "NO! I-I mean I can't." His eyes traveled across the dirt to land on something not too far away. Sasuke's gaze followed. He was looking at a burnt patch. _What did he do?_ He eyed the other. "I can be like Gaara, have insomnia. It'll be fine. I can accomplish it if I try," Naruto tried to assure himself, nodding his head along. "It won't happen again."

Suddenly, Naruto screamed out, pushing Sasuke out of his way as he made his way away from whatever he saw. When Sasuke turned, he caught a glimpse of red and blond. _His parents. I thought he knew that they weren't real?_ His thoughts paused. Naruto was forgetting events, so it was only time that he'd forget they were only his imagination. Sasuke remembered a time when he couldn't care less, how great that had been.

. . . .

There were no other incidents that night; no sign of any other life, both real or nonexistent. Naruto didn't sleep even a minute, afraid of what could happen. Maybe he should tell them? No, they'd leave instantly. He didn't want that, and it wouldn't hurt them to not know, right? He didn't know. Gaara just ignored the others as they finally rose from their slumber (or daze in Naruto's case).

They had no idea of their next action. The only logical one, which surprisingly Naruto supplied them with, was to locate any others to bring to their side, before Alice reached them. They trudged along, detecting no sign of life, including the monsters that were bound to show up. Half the day passed by without a glimpse until Gaara stated. "Someone's nearby."

Just a moment after, Naruto smelt a strange metallic scent. It was undeniably blood. Other people would stray from blood, but Naruto went in the direction it was coming from. The others followed, barely able to stop themselves from running into Naruto who had stopped to survey the scene. Unrecognizable bodies laid scattered across the ground, or in fact, what was left of the ground.

"They were on her side," said a voice from above. They all gazed up except for Gaara and Shikamaru. Shikamaru didn't bother wasting his energy since she was jumping down from the tree, while Gaara couldn't care less about who it was.

"Sakura?" Naruto laughed and went forward just as her feet hit the ground. "How have you been?"

Sakura glanced away when Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her.

"We can't trust anything she says."

Naruto frowned at Sasuke's sentence. "Why not?"

"She tried to kill you-"

Naruto waved a hand at him. "So have many others." Turning back to Sakura, he added. "Plus, what Alice wants, Alice gets." He smiled sideways at the pink haired girl, who returned it weakly. She couldn't believe that he'd let her off the hook so easily. "You should come with us," he announced, grabbing her wrist. "Whatcha say?"

. . . .

Sasuke did not enjoy the new arrangement. Now he had more people in his way. First he started with the dumb blond, then he got the redhead and lazy one, and now he has the murderous pink-haired broad. Man, his day was really going downhill. Then, before he knew it, Itachi would murder him, now that would be the icing on the cake. That's most likely what was going to happen if the day didn't get better.

. . . .

Sakura and Naruto talked about the school with Shikamaru joining in once in a while about something being troublesome. Gaara and Sasuke just remained silent as they all walked. Gaara had his arms firmly over his chest when Sasuke's gaze drifted over to the teen. Sasuke glared as he turned away. They were all doomed. Sasuke rolled his eyes at that thought.

Well, they would be; he on the other hand would make it.

Suddenly, Naruto stopped again. "You hear that?" He turned in a full circle, leading them to go right, instead of staying on the trail. Naruto never stayed on the path, it seemed. Naruto led them to a river, beaming at them. For once, he said nothing.

Sakura chuckled nervously at the kid._ Seriously?_ She wondered to herself. _All that performing and it was only a river. That's Naruto for you._ She couldn't believe she actually attempted to dispose of him for Alice's drastic plan. What was she thinking, probably that it was the only way to prove herself willing to do anything to save everyone... except Naruto or who else Alice wanted dead.

If she accomplished her task, how long would it have been for her to realize what she was doing wasn't helping her or anyone, but Alice? Or would she just never stop her rampage until Alice herself was finished? She glanced over her shoulder to look at the others of the group. So far, they only had five, while Alice clearly had at least eight still. Her eyes stopped on the redhead, who glared at her.

It caused her to snap her head away. Maybe it was best if she stayed away from him, Sasuke as well. Sasuke definitely hated her for obvious reasons, and more so than anyone else right down. She wasn't quite wrong, however. Sasuke had more hate for another person, just not someone who was exactly in the vicinity. Sakura turned to say her apology to Naruto; it was overdue.

However, when she did, she saw those eyes expand wide, and then someone screamed. She turned and the least she expect to be screaming was. Sasuke was bent over, clutching his stomach. "Not again," he hissed through his teeth as he stumbled backward. Abruptly, his head whipped to the side and fell to hit the ground. Moments passed as silence took over the area.

Sakura was stunned, since she wasn't there to hear about Sasuke's memories returning or Naruto's lack of them. Gaara, who was right next to Sasuke, widened his eyes a fraction when Sasuke screamed loudly and sat back on his heels. "Don't leave me!" A tear rolled down Sasuke's cheek. "... You promised..." Another tear rolled down along with a sniff through his nose. His hands gripped his knees as he clenched his eyes closed.

Naruto went over to him and tried to put a hand on his shoulder, but Sasuke's red eyes swirled open. "You." He hissed as he rose to his feet. "You caused this." He took a step forward, which Naruto countered with a step backward.

Naruto rose up his hands in surrender. "What did I-" He leaped back a few feet as Sasuke lunged with his sword. "Stop it!" He yelled at the other._ Why did he want to injure me so much?_ He jumped away again. Shikamaru decided to help, only to notice Sasuke's eyes rolled back into his head, and he crumbled back to land almost on Sakura.

Sakura caught him right before his head smashed with the ground. She lowered him the rest of the way. "Sorry, but I didn't need you two to get hurt right now." She had pushed a pressure point that caused him to collapse. She always enjoyed learning about the human body in school. It actually came in handy outside of the place. "Alice has a plan." She looked around at the other three.

Her green eyes went to the only other green-eyed one within their group so far. She pictured him the way she first seen him, bloody and unconscious. "She wants you dead." She told him with no hesitation or adding anything to make it sound less hurtful. She knew he was the one that could handle the news the best, at least she suspected or hoped.

Gaara raised a nonexistent eyebrow. He said nothing, which was unnerving Sakura. Who doesn't do anything when someone tells you are wanted dead? She glared to show her distaste. Fortunately for her, Shikamaru spoke up before Gaara could do anything. "You do realize where we've been for the past eight years, correct?" Actually eight years, he has been at that place, yet Gaara was admitted when he was quite young.

In fact, he probably has been there for around ten years, around five or so he was taken into the institute. The youngest ever in that place and the most feared, even when he was only a mere toddler or a little older.

Sakura had heard the rumors. She nodded.

Shikamaru stated. "Then, you piece it together. Why do you think he didn't react?"

Sakura blinked. _How did he know her question?_ Her first conclusion was that he was crazy, but he didn't particularly seem crazy, neither did Shikamaru, actually. Then, she thought that maybe that he didn't care what she told him.

Shikamaru sighed. "Let's go; Gaara, carry Sasuke would you?" Gaara glared down at the unconscious raven-haired boy, but nonetheless grabbed hold of his collar. Shikamaru knew better than to order him around. He found it easier to ask, and it was less painful. Naruto hovered around Gaara and Sasuke as they walked, while Shikamaru and Sakura took up the front.

. . . .

Sasuke awoke to be dropped against a tree trunk. He let a grunt slide out, narrowed eyes staring at the blond behind the redhead that had dropped him. Naruto smiled nervously. "H... Hey Bastard Uchiha." Sasuke scowled, but that didn't phase Naruto. Instead, it helped him keep going. "Remember how you told me how you killed your parents?"

Sasuke's eye twitched, increasingly so when Naruto plopped down next to him.

"Well, I was wondering about your other family."

"Dead," he stated.

Naruto frowned. "That sucks." Sasuke didn't feel the same. Most of them deserved it. Naruto gave a strained smile. "Well, don't worry, you have us." He chimed.

Sasuke cocked a brow. "Excuse me? I didn't ask to be in your _family_, and I don't want to. Get some other pathetic asshole to do that."

"Did you call yourself a pathetic butt hole?" A grin stretched his face.

Sasuke growled. Naruto was supposed to just drop the subject and shut up. He should know better, unless his brain was really deteriorating that fast. Naruto's brows crunched down in confusion at the silence afterward. He turned his head away, hugging his knees. "What's your name again?"

"Sasuke," was all he said as he stood up.

"Oh yeah!" He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "I... totally knew that."

"Truly convincing."

. . . .

Night arrived once again. Gaara just stared at the moon; it didn't ever seem to change, but typically he didn't look at the moon, so he wouldn't really know for certain. He suspected it did, but didn't bother to inquire about such things. Usually he didn't look too deep into anything really. That, apparently, was the reason that started it all. He was looking into something he should have, and it ended up starting a chain reaction.

One led to another, then he wound up in the institute. For a while, he didn't do anything, but continuously murder anyone who came near. Everyone found out pretty quickly that the best thing for their own health would be to steer clear of him. However, Shikamaru was admitted, and he didn't bother to move away from Gaara, since he was "too lazy" to move for Gaara's or his own benefit.

He didn't bother Gaara as much as he thought he would, though. Presently, Gaara glanced over at Shikamaru's still form. Then, his eyes traveled to a figure pacing a little ways off. It was obviously Naruto. Again, he was up causing noise like the night before. Gaara watched as the blond's pacing increased and he began to mumble (not so much) under his breath. Gaara tuned out the constant noise, while subconsciously his eyes closed.

When he reopened them, he jumped back ever so slightly. Naruto was directly in his face. "How do you do it?" Gaara didn't know how to respond. "How do you stay up so long," Naruto clarified. His bright eyes dimmed when he didn't receive an answer. "Please tell me, Gaara."

Gaara finally stated. "Try thinking." Naruto opened his mouth. "Without talking, if you can," he finished.

Naruto nodded and grinned brightly. "Thanks Gaara." Gaara thought he'd just leave, instead he sat right next to him. Gaara narrowed his eyes in annoyance. Naruto either didn't notice or just shrugged it off. Naruto tried to remember key parts in his life before he forgot them. Maybe, just maybe, he can keep the ones he repeated in his head. However, as he searched, he find it increasingly hard to find a full memory.

He mostly found scattered pieces of them. Finally, he found a full one. It was when he was younger, and with his parents. It was the morning of the day of the crash. They were smiling and everything, unsuspectingly walking straight into their complete demise. Naruto's mother picked him up; he was getting too old for this, but he didn't seem to mind. In his head, he found it perfectly alright, since he was only five (actually six, since it was his birthday).

They, as in Naruto's parents, walked out the door. They put him in the seat, and Naruto's mother dropped his bag. At that exact moment, his father had lost the keys. That should have been a clue for them to stay home. Usually, nothing occurred when they got in the car. However, the day kept on playing through. They were driving, after they found the keys ten minutes later in the yard.

Naturally his parents thought it was one of his pranks, but it wasn't. He didn't even touch the keys; he didn't even know where they were originally. They put on their seat belts. Naruto bit his lip, while younger Naruto giggled away. _Those won't help you._ His father smiled at Naruto when he turned to look out the back window. "What should we do tonight, Naruto?"

_Lie on the side of the highway with you both dead and the car on fire._ Naruto wanted it to stop. However, it continued on like it was really happening. They backed out of the driveway and went along. Younger Naruto bounced around in his seat. "Heriz we 'oing?" He wasn't a really good speaker, even if he talked non-stop.

"It's a surprise." His mother leaned back and gave him something. Naruto didn't remember what it was, but the younger version of himself was indeed happy about whatever it was. The car sped on, oblivious that it was its last ride. The younger Naruto started to drift off. _NO, wake up!_ Naruto pleaded with his younger self. However, the kid didn't listen. The kid closed his eyes.

_No!_ The world started to get lighter as the younger version of himself started to awake from sleep. He heard his parents' screams, and his younger self's eyes snapped open. _No, go back to sleep now. It's only going to get worse!_ The world went upside down. Everything flung everywhere. The young Naruto watched in horror as the car rolled faster down the slight incline with no movement from his parents, other than the way their bodies flew around the front of the car.

"Momm-!" His younger self started to say. Present Naruto jutted forward just before it ended, gasping and shaking. _No, they died. They died right there._ He couldn't save them. Gaara scrutinized Naruto from the second Naruto started to think about something. Naruto's expression turned from happy to anger then to complete and utter terror. Then, Naruto launched forward to land on his hands and knees.

His whole body was shaking rapidly. Gaara only heard parts of Naruto's stammering in between gasps and fast rambles. "They're dead," was the gist of what Gaara could gather. Naruto burst into tears, uncontrollably. He didn't understand why he had to watch their death or close to their deaths. He hated it the first time, and he definitely hated it all over again.

In school, they always reminded him of it. They even blamed him for being the cause that they died sometimes. A hand landed on his shoulder, and Naruto flinched away from it, tears rushing out despite on how much he was protesting against it. The hand came again, and Naruto shoved it off again. A loud sound escaped his throat as he managed to throw off the hand to rush to his feet.

He rubbed his eyes furiously; the tears slowly disappeared. He couldn't stop the quivering lip he had. Why didn't he do anything? He shouldn't have been such a greedy kid to go against the signs. He was too focused on whatever they were giving him for his... birthday... that he didn't care if he was rushing them. He shut off his train of thoughts and stared into his damp sleeve.

Eventually, he got his breathing to return to normal and removed his arm from his face. "I'm-I'm fine." He faked a grin and a large humorless laugh. "Just a nightmare," _that's a reality_, his mind added harshly. Everyone was staring at him, most with worried expressions. Sakura was still kneeling next to the spot Naruto had just been, hand still about level of where Naruto's shoulder had been.

She was the one trying to comfort her. Who he really needed wasn't here, and who he wanted to cheer him up also wasn't here. His parents are dead, _gone_. They're never coming back. His mind provided another person that always brought a smile to his face. If only she was here, Naruto might not be an emotional wreck at the moment. Scratch that, he would still be flipping out.

Sakura frowned. "Naruto, maybe you should sit-"

"No," he blurted. "We should leave, now." He turned and walked away. If the others followed him, that would be great, but if not, oh well. He was effectively putting them all in danger by being near them. Behind him, he heard their soft footsteps and couldn't help, but smile a bit.

. . . .

The one walked walked strictly alone. It was imperative that they were okay. The one had to find them, had to find anyone, but Alice and her goons. Alice was always known to be... odder than the rest. Alice was downright bad news. The one knew some people were here. They need to form together to defeat Alice. The one had to find her friends before Alice got to them.

Either way, her friends were dead, or they were going to be under Alice's "spell," also known as hypnosis. She hated that Alice had the audacity to actually force people to work underneath her control without as much as a mind to fight her off. Anyone could tell when someone was under Alice's control. Their eyes would glaze over, and they would answer with the least expression ever.

Sometimes they'd say things the same way at the same time. They were basically zombies, never in control of their own bodies or even what they thought about. She despised the thought of mind control. It was as much dangerous as it was unfair to the others under the influence of the controller (in this case Alice). She walked in search of anyone.

She'd prefer to locate the ones not under the mind control, though. She turned with a slight smile on her face. Someone she recognized! She followed after the figure.

. . . .

Naruto yawned loudly, but he refused to even call for a break. They just needed to keep trudging along. They'll stumble along someone or at least a creature to entertain their time. Then, he heard Shikamaru's voice. "We could cover more ground if we split up." His voice drawled on.

Naruto nodded. "I'll take the bast- uhm, Sasuke, or whatever, and-"

"I'll travel with you two." Sakura said. Naruto grinned somewhat. "Someone has to keep you two from killing each other." She added with a slight grin back.

Sasuke just glared at the two. _The two most annoying ones were the ones I'm stuck with, fantastic._ These past few days were only getting worse. Sasuke could handle only so much before he killed the nuisances. Sakura and Naruto started to talk to each other after a quick farewell to the others and establishing a meeting place: the ruined observatory, since Shikamaru and Gaara had seen it as well.

Sasuke wanted earplugs at the moment as their conversation heated up on some idiotic topic. Naruto waved his arms enthusiastically, while Sakura shook her head, and with a finger pointed toward Naruto, she said something that Sasuke didn't want to hear. "Ay, Sasuke, do you know what a bra is?" Naruto questioned him loudly.

Sasuke's face reddened slightly as he closed his eyes. "What kind of question is that?"

"A random one," chimed Naruto. "Just answer it."

Sasuke didn't answer. He had a mother that complained about something that sounded like it, but he didn't understand what it was.

"See, Naruto, only you know about that," Sakura gave Naruto a look that resembled a mother scolding her wrong child.

"Because of Pervy Sage!" Naruto laughed, hand behind his head. There was that name again. Slowly, Naruto's happiness dissolved as a frown tugged at his lips. To play it off as nothing happened, Naruto grinned over at Sasuke. "I can't believe I know something the _great_ Sasuke doesn't."

Sasuke raised a brow, clearly irritated, especially when Sakura snickered next to Naruto. "You don't know anything." He stated, crossing his arms.

Naruto imitated his stance and posture, jutting out his lip in the process. "Oh really, how is that?" He tried to remain serious, but it was effectively ruined when a grin illuminated his face. He chuckled suddenly. "Why so serious?" He tilted his head.

Sasuke gave him a look, eyes narrowed and mouth in a tight line. His gaze traveled to his sword.

Naruto noticed, and his chuckle turned nervous. "Let's not be hasty." He backed up some, hand slowly going to the pouch on his right leg. It was just in case he attempted anything that could possibly lead to Naruto's demise.

Before matters could get worse, Sakura cut in. "Listen, now's not the time for a fight, no matter if you two deserve to get beat up." She glared somewhat at them both. They settled for walking in silence, a tense and long silence. Sakura was in the middle to prevent anything. However, that did nothing since Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other and lunged in front of the pink-haired female.

Sasuke's and Naruto's weapons struck each other and pushed against the blades. Sakura was getting quite angry at their behavior. In fact, they were behaving like children! Sakura lifted up her foot and struck the ground hard. Immediately after the connection, the ground split apart, right between the two fighters. They leaped back as the hole became greater.

The two gaped at her. "Enough," she ground out. "Or next time it'll be both of your heads. Is that clear?" Both slowly nodded their heads, and Naruto apologized, while Sasuke sheathed his sword. Sasuke blinked at the ground. That Sakura girl was strong, stronger than Naruto it seemed. Once again, they were forced to walk, but this time they didn't attack each other, especially when Sakura caught them glaring each other down.

. . . .

Night time descended on them, yet they found nothing, not even any type of monster. "I can't believe this," complained Naruto. "We accomplished nothing!" Sakura's eye twitched at his non-stop complaints, which she had in common with Sasuke. Both the pink-haired Haruno and the raven-haired Uchiha looked like they were going to strangle the blond Uzumaki.

Naruto didn't bother to notice, as his shoulders slumped. Nothing, absolutely nothing happened that day. No one understood if that was good or not; Naruto suspected it was the latter, especially when he sensed people nearby all of a sudden. "Hey guys?"

Sakura groaned, "What now," while Sasuke just scowled, thinking the same thing.

Naruto directed himself toward the group. As he got closer, however, the people seemed to disappear. He hurried faster, arriving in a clearing. He blinked at the bodies across the ground again. That would explain why they "disappeared." He told Sakura to locate any survivors she could. Sakura obliged and scampered off. Naruto didn't care if Sasuke did the same, as long as they found at least somewhat recognizable.

From what Sasuke could see, there was around ten moderate-sized forms on the ground. He recognized some from the school yard. He looked over the people, identifying ones he remembered, but so far there wasn't any. Until, that is, he saw dark blue hair. Instantly, he remembered that girl, the one Naruto was very protective of. Just when he came to a conclusion, Naruto yelled out, shoving Sasuke aside once more.

Instead of running from something, he ran to it. Naruto brought up Hinata's head in shock, something red and sticky stuck to his hands. She can't be dead. He tried to catch a glimpse of life, and he actually found something. It was so faint that it started to dwindle away. "Hinata, wake up! C'mon, don't you dare die on me!" He resisted the urge to shake her back awake, only to realize that it didn't matter.

She had no pulse anymore. Naruto's vision blurred, and he held Hinata's body close, well her corpse close. Sakura and Sasuke watched hopelessly at Naruto and Hinata's corpse. She was dead; nothing could prevent it.

It was already too late.


End file.
